PETA Renews FTC Complaint Against California Milk Advisory Board
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has filed a new complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claiming that the California Milk Advisory Board “is deliberately misleading consumers by advertising in its sales-promotion campaigns that cows on California dairy farms live in ‘comfort,’ are ‘very well cared for,’ and are ‘happy.’” According to the animal rights organization, “these statements do not stand up to even passing scrutiny.” An organization spokesperson alleges that, “conditions commonly found on California’s factory dairy farms have been scientifically proven to cause cows extreme physical pain and mental distress.”
According to a news source, PETA filed a similar complaint with the FTC in 2002, but it was not resolved. PETA apparently claims that its new complaint is necessary because conditions have worsened on California dairy farms. The organization has also reportedly filed litigation over the issue, but the lawsuit was dismissed when the courts ruled that the milk board is not subject to unfair advertising laws.
Among other matters, PETA contends in its complaint that the ads show cows “living peacefully in wide-open green pastures, but in reality, most cows on dairy farms live in barren, manure-filled dirt lots,” a significant percentage of cows “suffer from painful udder infections” because they lack basic veterinary care, and California dairy farm cows “are so weakened by their inhumane treatment that dairy producers
send them to slaughter when they are only 5 years old.” See PETA Press Release and The Modesto Bee, November 10, 2009.
In a related development, an American Farm Bureau Federation representative has reportedly indicated that the industry expects disputes over animal rights to impose significant costs on animal agriculture in the future. According to a press report, Mary Kay Thatcher, director of the bureau’s Ag Policy Team, referred to millions recently spent in Ohio to counter a ballot proposal supported by the Humane Society of the United States and called it a drop in the bucket given the 27 states that allow ballot initiatives and the Humane Society’s large budget. See Oklahoma Farm Report, November 9, 2009.
