All Fizz, No Action: PepsiCo Slammed For Ignoring Abuse of Bulls in Its Sugar Pipeline

For Immediate Release:
March 13, 2026

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

“Cut the Bull. Choose Cruelty-Free!” That’s the message from PETA that will appear in a full-page spread in Crain’s New York Business on Monday, blasting PepsiCo for failing to investigate whether its suppliers in India are contributing to the well-documented (and videotaped) suffering of bulls used to haul sugarcane that PepsiCo sources for its branded beverages.

PepsiCo’s Indian bottling partner is part of an industry where bulls are beaten and whipped as they struggle to pull carts illegally overloaded with up to 8,000 pounds of sugarcane under the blazing sun, without rest or water. Many are left with bloody gashes on their faces from barbed-wire spikes that rip into their skin if they “disobey” by turning their heads, restrained with nose ropes that tear their nasal septa, and collapse from exhaustion. Some are worked to death and left where they fall.

Last month, PETA Foundation attorneys sued PepsiCo after the beverage company attempted to block a shareholder resolution seeking a report on the treatment of animals in its supply chains. Less than a day later, PepsiCo reversed course and agreed to allow a vote on the proposal at its 2026 annual meeting. PETA alerted the company as far back as  early 2025 that the abuse of bulls violates PepsiCo’s own Global Policy on Animal Welfare—yet the company appears to have done nothing, despite the fact that humane options are already in use, including eco-tractors that can replace bulls and boost efficiency.

“Bulls used in the sugarcane industry are being worked to death, forced to pull massive sugarcane loads for hours under the blazing sun without water, rest, or shade,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk, who has witnessed the cruelty firsthand. “It’s time to replace suffering bulls with 100 percent humane, dependable, eco-friendly tractors, and PETA is making sure PepsiCo can no longer look the other way.”

PETA encourages everyone to help spare bulls a lifetime of suffering and abuse on sugarcane farms by urging PepsiCo to require its partners and suppliers to switch to humane and modern eco-tractors.

Animal Rahat, a PETA-supported animal protection charity in India, has worked since 2011 to replace bullock-driven carts with more efficient and cost-effective mechanized alternatives through its Sugarcane Industry Mechanization Project. Through the project’s influence, one-third of Maharashtra state’s sugar production has been mechanized. A single tractor is capable of transporting up to 18 tons of sugar per trip, providing owners with improved income opportunities.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.