PETA Sues Whole Foods Over ‘Humane Meat’ Labeling

In a new lawsuit, the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) claims that Whole Foods is peddling “misleading” information on the treatment of animals whose meat it sells.

From The Guardian:

Peta has filed a lawsuit against Whole Foods, claiming that their “humane meat” range, something their customers pay highly for, is “deceptive and misleading”.

The suit, which was filed in California on Monday, alleges that Whole Foods “is duping well-meaning shoppers into buying meat that they falsely label as humane”, according to Jared Goodman, director of animal law for Peta, the animal rights organization.

“We just want Whole Foods to stop this misleading advertising and give consumers the opportunity to make this educated decision,” he said.

The high-end grocery store has a “5-Step Animal Welfare Rating” program. As animals are treated better, the supplier receives a higher rating, which is reflected in the packaging. Whole Foods believes this “encourages producers to evolve their practices to attain higher Step ratings”.

Read more here.

—Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata