After PETA’s exposé of a Whole Foods “humane” pork supplier revealed severe crowding, lameness, inadequate veterinary care, and death, we purchased stock in Whole Foods to put pressure on the company to stop marketing its meat with phrases like “humane,” “humanely raised,” and “raised with care.” We’ll attend the company’s annual meetings and propose shareholder resolutions that’ll expose Whole Foods’ stockowners to PETA’s investigation and push for an end to the company’s lies.
The farm at the center of PETA’s exposé is a “Step 2″–rated farm, according to Whole Foods’ “5-Step™” welfare rating system. Although Whole Foods claims that animals on “Step 2” farms will live “enriched lives” and are “free roaming” with “no crowding,” PETA found that pigs on this farm were confined to crowded sheds with concrete floors at all times, except when being weighed or transported. Pigs with illnesses and injuries were left without veterinary care for days or even weeks, even though “Step 2” standards require that the animals receive treatment within 24 hours.
PETA and a California citizen have also filed a class-action lawsuit against Whole Foods for alleged violations of California consumer-protection laws. PETA’s lawsuit points out that shoppers are tricked into paying higher prices for meat from animals on farms raised under standards that differ little, if at all, from the industry’s minimum standards. For example, Whole Foods promotes chicken meat with the phrase “no cages”—but chickens raised and killed for meat are not typically kept in cages in the poultry industry, making that assertion meaningless.
What You Can Do
Sign our petition and tell Whole Foods to stop deceiving people with claims about “humane meat.”
