Antibiotics

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.

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.

A USDA testing program finds that at least 20 percent of tested cattle samples labeled “raised without antibiotics” or “no antibiotics ever” tested positive for antibiotics. USDA buries findings and reports no punitive action.

Antimicrobial Resistance is an increasing threat to human and animal health. Solving the problem requires significant reforms to agricultural policy and industrial animal farming practices. Yet, the largest international One Health programs largely fail to acknowledge industrial animal farming as a key threat to the One Health mission.

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

Farm Forward is engaging with major retailers and food companies, including Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and Publix, urging them to validate “raised without antibiotics” claims through independent lab testing and to uphold accurate labeling.

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.

Why has Costco kept its price for rotisserie chickens at $4.99 since they were first sold in 2009, despite inflation? Costco knows that cheap chicken helps to bring customers through the door, who then spend money on other products with greater profit margins. Costco capitalizes on this trend by selling rotisserie chickens in the back of the store. However, the low price point comes at a high cost for the welfare of the chickens, the environment, and public health.

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 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.