Tomorrow: Protest Whole Foods Goat Milk Supplier’s Cruelty

What: Creative Protest Against Animal Cruelty at Whole Foods Goat Milk Supplier, Meyenberg Goat Milk

When: Saturday, August 22nd, 2:30 PM

Where: Whole Foods Market, 3000 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

Berkeley, CA — This Saturday, August 22nd, animal rights activists with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) will protest outside Whole Foods on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, calling on the retailer to stop selling Meyenberg Goat Milk due to animal cruelty and neglect exposed by DxE investigators at a Meyenberg-supplying dairy in Stratford, CA. Meyenberg is the nation's largest goat milk producer. The specific farm, Vera Goat Dairy, confines 9,000 goats in barren lots without access to pasture. 

In 2025, DxE investigators found that dozens of dead mother and baby goats were regularly being dumped into an illegal dead pile at the dairy. They found evidence of disease, emaciated animals, and workers handling animals roughly.

During the investigation, four DxE animal cruelty investigators openly rescued two sick baby goats. These four investigators, including two Bay Area residents, are now charged with felony grand theft, felony conspiracy, and misdemeanor trespass for rescuing the two goats and getting them to a veterinarian. The sick goats, whom rescuers named Celia and Phoebe, have made a full recovery and are living at an animal sanctuary.

The protest will feature a 10-foot-tall milk carton prop modeled after Meyenberg packaging, but with an image of the dead pile of goats documented at Meyenberg’s Vera Goat Dairy and with red streamers symbolizing the animals’ blood flowing out from the top of the carton (shown below).

Protesters will hold signs, chant, and engage customers entering the store. At one point, they will perform a “die-in,” lying down on the ground in a heap of bodies to visually represent the pile of dead goats that was repeatedly documented at Meyenberg’s Vera Goat Dairy 

Speakers at the protest will include one of the local rescuers, who will share firsthand testimony about the conditions she observed inside Meyenberg’s Vera Goat Dairy and what led to the rescue.

Visuals and interview opportunities will include:

• A 10-foot Meyenberg-style milk carton prop staged outside the store with red streamers flowing from the top to represent blood, while protesters perform a “die-in” on the ground next to the carton

• On-site interviews with an animal rescuer facing felonies and other DxE organizers

• Speak-outs, chants, banners, and community outreach

The four goat rescuers have a pre-trial hearing this Tuesday, August 25, 2026 at the Kings County Courthouse. Judge Jim Trevino will hear arguments on several motions filed by the defense, including a motion to reduce the felony charges to misdemeanors, supported by the evidence of animal cruelty that motivated the rescue. 

Find the full investigation press kit, including photos, video, and detailed information here.