Consumer Groups Sue Pilgrim’s Pride

The Organic Consumers Association and Food & Water Watch Inc. have filed a lawsuit alleging that Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. misrepresents the conditions in which it raises its chickens. Food & Water Watch Inc. v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (D.C. Super. Ct., filed February 4, 2019). The complaint alleges that “Pilgrim’s Pride systematically raises, transports, and slaughters chickens in inhumane factory-farm conditions,” including “the routine use of antibiotics,” “crowding,” “the use of toxic chemicals,” “the use of artificially selected fast-growing, breast-heavy chicken breeds,” and “the abuse of chickens by Pilgrim’s Pride contractors and employees.” The organizations focus on Pilgrim’s Pride’s representations that its chickens are fed “only natural ingredients” and are not fed “growth hormones of any kind” as well as its assertions that the company “strongly supports the humane treatment of animals.”

The advocacy groups allege that Pilgrim’s Pride has violated the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act and seek corrective advertising, an injunction, attorney’s fees and costs.