Animal Product Labeling

Costco’s $4.99 rotisserie chicken is an American icon. However, behind the low price lies a hidden story of the company’s chronic salmonella contamination and animal welfare abuses.

A USDA investigation has validated Farm Forward allegations against Alexandre Family Farm, confirming violations of organic and animal welfare standards. USDA moved to suspend Alexandre’s organic certification and placed the company under heightened oversight. The agency’s final report on the truth of our allegations—obtained by Farm Forward through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request—confirms abuses and regulatory breaches that Alexandre had long denied, until compelled by the investigation and inspection records to admit wrongdoing.

Whole Foods is knowingly deceiving consumers by selling meat raised with antibiotics under their “no antibiotics, ever” promise.

Farm Forward revealed that trusted beef brands like Tyson, Cargill, and JBS have been deceiving consumers by continuing to sell products that are not antibiotic-free under Raised Without Antibiotics (RWA) labels.

The fraud, corruption, and systemic animal abuses of Alexandre Family Farm revealed by Farm Forward have resulted in the filing of a consumer class action lawsuit against the mega-dairy. Humane Farm Animal Care, the group behind the “Certified Humane” label, has also been sued as part of the action. This civil case follows a criminal case brought against Alexandre in California in late 2024.

Today, the fraud, corruption, and systemic animal abuses of Alexandre Family Farm revealed by Farm Forward resulted in the filing of a consumer class action lawsuit against the mega-dairy. Humane Farm Animal Care, the group behind the “Certified Humane” label, has also been sued as part of the action. This civil case follows a criminal case brought against Alexandre in California in late 2024.

Farm Forward is proud to announce the launch of a new nonprofit, the Center for Jewish Food Ethics (CJFE)—the culmination of our eight years of incubation and support for farmed animal advocacy in the Jewish community.

Three U.S. Senators, working closely with Farm Forward, have urged the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to strengthen its guidelines on animal welfare and environmental labeling claims, citing widespread deception in food marketing that harms both consumers and independent farmers.

Pressure is building on Alexandre Farm a month after the release of Farm Forward’s investigation into their harmful dairy farming practices as new alarming photos and videos emerge.

Alexandre’s abuses and deceptions have continued well into 2024, with no sign of abating.

Much has happened in the week since Farm Forward’s groundbreaking investigation into Alexandre Family Farms.

Our investigation of fraud, deception, and animal welfare abuses at Alexandre Family Farm (Alexandre) revealed that Alexandre’s national reputation for high animal welfare is largely a mirage. It is highly likely that milk sold across the country—including in products like toddler formula and ice cream—came from abused, neglected, and mistreated cows who were allowed to linger in their suffering.

Farm Forward’s recent investigation and report describing humanewashing and fraud by what is arguably the nation’s leading certified organic, humane, and “regenerative” dairy, Alexandre Family Farms, suggests serious problems with USDA Organic dairy. Our report was covered in The Atlantic.

This week Farm Forward published a new investigation and report describing humanewashing and fraud by a leading certified organic, humane, and “regenerative” dairy, Alexandre Family Farm. Our report was covered in The Atlantic. 

Farm Forward sent a letter to state attorneys general encouraging them to take action on antibiotic labeling.

Farm Forward sent a letter to the Deputy Undersecretary of Food Safety at the USDA sharing our concerns and offering actionable recommendations that would help ensure consumer trust in meat labeling.

This year, we partnered with the research firm Data for Progress to test some of our hypotheses about consumer understandings of everything from “pasture raised” to Global Animal Partnership’s “Animal Welfare Certified” label.

A federal judge in California ruled that the consumer protection lawsuit alleging Whole Foods Market falsely advertised its beef as “no antibiotics, ever” can proceed.

Whole Foods is objecting to proceeding with discovery. It’s not a good sign that the largest natural retailer in the country, which built a reputation on being honest and transparent, won’t share even the most basic information with the public about who supplies their meat or give assurances that they’ve taken steps to ensure their marketing claims are true.

The USDA announced changes to the guidelines meat companies must follow if they want to label their products as “humanely raised,” “free range,” or “raised without antibiotics.”

Last month, the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau (NAD)—an institution designed to bolster consumer trust in advertising by investigating claims made by businesses—recommended that One Health Certified (OHC) discontinue its animal welfare claims.

The ask cites a recently published Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) report documenting the USDA’s failure to regulate animal-raising claims on meat found in grocery stores. Over 80 percent of the animal-raising claims on meat and poultry products that AWI requested information about from the USDA had no, or inadequate, information submitted to the USDA for the approval of the claim.

From the Jewish Initiative for Animals’ Is This Kosher? campaign—while the dairy source of our shepherd ancestors came primarily from small-scale herds of goats and sheep, most Jews now consume the most widely available commercial products from industrial dairies.

From the Jewish Initiative for Animals’ Is This Kosher? campaign—chickens have lived with Jewish communities for millennia, domesticated 4,000–10,000 years ago. Historically, however, chicken was never consumed in the quantities most people in the industrialized world eat today.

From the Jewish Initiative for Animals’ Is This Kosher? campaign—the true cost of fishing is always higher than it appears.

For centuries, the question of what’s “fit” for Jewish communities has guided our daily actions and reflected our religious identities and moral values.

Findings from our recent survey show what American consumers understand about the farmed-animal industry; promising insights, and some troubling beliefs.

Major corporations cash in on so-called “humane” labels like “antibiotic free”, “natural”, and “organic”, even though their corresponding husbandry practices almost never match consumers’ expectations for animal welfare.

Whole Foods Market has claimed all of their meat products come from animals not treated with antibiotics, but our findings suggest otherwise.

Farm Forward’s public service announcement was censored in the two cities where Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting kicked off. Read why.

The National Chicken Council’s response to New York Times enlightening video misses the mark, and on purpose, for these reasons. Learn more.

The history of Farm Forward’s efforts to reveal the truth behind Whole Foods advertising practices around animal products tells its own tale.

GAP and Whole Foods have failed to prevent the use of drugs in their supply chains, raising questions about the claims they make about their meat. 

Beef certified by Global Animal Partnership (GAP), the animal welfare certification used primarily by Whole Foods Market, was found to contain antibiotic residue despite GAP’s and Whole Foods’ claims that their meat is “antibiotic-free.”

Farm Forward has found a variety of drugs, including an antibiotic, in meat certified as having “no antibiotics, ever” taken from products purchased from Whole Foods store shelves.