In the wake of other bad press, a lawsuit filed against Whole Foods by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) alleges that the retailer’s claims about its animal welfare standards are a “sham.”
The class-action suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Northern California, claims that Whole Foods doesn’t adequately monitor its suppliers to ensure compliance with the chain’s “5-Step Animal Welfare Rating” for its meat products.
In the company’s “5-Step” system, “Step 1” is the lowest rating allowed for certification and requires that no animals be kept in cages, crates, or crowded conditions. “Step 5” requires that animals spend their entire lives on the same farm, with plenty of access to the outdoors.
The suit alleges that Whole Foods audits its meat suppliers only once every 15 months on average, and that even when they aren’t compliant, no penalties are imposed. In practice, this means that the retailer’s meat standards “barely exceed common industry practices” for meat at any other grocer. In this way, it says, customers are “deceived into paying a higher price for meat that fails to offer the benefit they seek.”
The class-action was filed on behalf of named plaintiff Leah Williams, who told the Boston Globe that she’s “not out for money,” but simply wants Whole Foods to live up to its own standards. “If a supermarket represents [itself] as selling humanely raised food from local farms, then that’s what I expect,” she said.
