Legal Complaint Filed Against Foster Poultry Farms

December 13, 2005—Recent polls indicate most consumers are in favor of the humane treatment of animals raised for food, and many of these consumers are guided by industry marketing describing meat as having been produced under “humane” conditions. According to East Bay Animal Advocates (EBAA), consumers of Foster Farms’ poultry products are being duped.

EBAA asserts that Foster Farms, the largest poultry producer in the Western United States, routinely uses inaccurate advertising to mislead consumers into purchasing products that are not, in fact, raised using agricultural practices that are humane.

Consequently, EBAA along with a poultry consumer have filed a complaint with the California State Attorney General’s office requesting that they halt Foster Farms’ deceptive marketing of poultry products.

Foster Farms allegedly adheres to the National Chicken Council's “Animal Welfare Guidelines.” Moreover, the company’s print and Internet advertising lead consumers to believe that Foster Farms chickens are raised in a humane manner and in natural, clean environments. Investigations carried out by EBAA contradict these claims and reveal that the actual conditions at Foster Farms include inadequate veterinary care, high on-farm stocking density and unsanitary living quarters.

According to EBAA’s complaint, filed on December 13, “Foster Farms’ products are produced under a set of conditions vastly different than what the term ‘humane’ reasonably and objectively represents. The actual set of conditions at Foster Farms include: husbandry methods that intentionally induce prolonged pain and suffering, inadequate veterinary care and unsanitary conditions.”

“Foster Farm chickens are selectively bred to grow at an alarmingly rapid rate, resulting in chronic health problems and death,” says EBAA. Citing applicable California State Penal Codes and Business and Professions Codes, EBAA has requested that Foster Farms halt the misleading advertising.