Lawsuit alleges America’s largest supermarket chain is deceiving consumers with humane-washing signage while stocking factory-farmed meat from companies with documented animal welfare violations.
Los Angeles, CA — Animal Outlook, a leading national animal protection organization, filed a lawsuit against The Kroger Company and its wholly owned subsidiary Ralphs Grocery Company in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law. The complaint charges that Ralphs stores throughout Southern California are using misleading signage to deceive consumers about the welfare and health attributes of meat products sold in their stores.
The lawsuit centers on large, prominently displayed signs at multiple Ralphs locations in Los Angeles County that make bold claims—”well raised” painted above meat counters and “no antibiotics” displayed over refrigerators and freezers. But according to the complaint, the products beneath these feel-good signs tell a different story: conventional factory-farmed meat from some of the industry’s most notorious producers, including Smithfield, Hormel, and Tyson.
“This is textbook humane-washing,” says Ben Williamson, Executive Director of Animal Outlook. “Kroger is exploiting consumer concern about animal welfare and food safety by plastering reassuring language across their meat departments while doing absolutely nothing to ensure the products actually meet those claims. Shoppers see...
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