Troubled Dairy Giant Fair Oaks Farms Terminates Top-Level Executives After Undercover Investigation

Indiana-based Fair Oaks Farms—one of the largest dairy farms in the United States and a producer of milk under Fairlife Corporation—recently terminated three of its high-ranking executives. According to a letter from Fair Oaks Farms Chairman Mike McCloskey that was published on social media by a former employee, the company’s chief executive officer resigned and the positions of chief operating officer and chief strategy officer have been terminated.

The letter stated that the decision was based on the release of several undercover videos by animal-rights group Animal Recovery Mission (ARM) and the impact of COVID-19 on business. 

Fair Oaks investigation

The extensive, year-long ARM investigation documented extreme animal abuse at the dairy company—which bills itself as “humane”—such as workers beating, choking, stabbing, and burning newborn calves, among other extreme instances of abuse and neglect. ARM’s investigation resulted in a number of retailers such as Tony’s Fresh Market, Family Express, and Jewel-Osco pulling Fairlife products from shelves and a class-action lawsuit against the Fairlife brand and McCloskey for deceiving customers into believing Fairlife products were humane.

Operation FairLife from ARM Investigations on Vimeo.

“Resulting from the Animal Recovery Mission’s release of its undercover investigation on Fair Oaks Farms, it’s quite clear that the company has been in a downward spiral for a year now,” ARM founder Richard “Kudo” Couto said. “Fair Oaks Farms’ followers and customers now know the truth behind their façade and corporate lies. Support for this company is slowly fading stemming from decades of illegal animal abuse and lies.”

For more about undercover investigations, read:
New Undercover Footage Shows Tiger King Stars Abusing Animals  
Rooney Mara Goes Undercover To Expose Animal Suffering in Factory Farms
Shocking Footage Shows Calves Frozen to Death at Babybel Supplier