PETA Files False-Advertising Complaint Against Whole Foods

In a complaint filed today with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) calls out Whole Foods Market for misrepresenting its meat products at the food giant’s Washington, DC locations. By using slogans like “thanks for caring about animals” and touting its “strong focus on animal welfare,” PETA says that the meat sold at Whole Foods can still come from animals who were unnaturally confined, mutilated, scalded alive, and dehorned without painkillers—all things that the advertising doesn’t tell shoppers. According to PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman, “Whole Foods’ promises of ‘humane’ meat are as empty as they are unethical, deceptive, and apparently unlawful.” PETA is calling on DC authorities to “protect well-intentioned shoppers from being duped into buying the flesh of animals” treated in this way.