Do You Buy ‘Ethically Treated’ Chicken From Whole Foods? Find Out How You’ve Been Duped

According to a recent in-depth report from Bloomberg, the idea that chickens purchased from Whole Foods Market are raised and treated better than other chickens is a con.

Many people believe that the “humanely raised” chicken that they purchase from Whole Foods differs greatly from chicken sold at lower-cost supermarkets. But in reality, the only major difference is the price.

People can purchase antibiotic-free chicken thighs with a Whole Foods label advertising “no added solutions or injections” for $2.49 per pound. However, Perdue’s Harvestland-branded chicken thighs will cost you only $1.99 per pound. Why is that significant? The chicken purchased at Whole Foods was raised by a Perdue farmer and slaughtered in the same Perdue plant as its Harvestland counterpart.

According to David Sprinkle, research director at market-research firm Packaged Facts, “What used to be more unique” to natural-food retailers “has now become really par for the course, certainly among your larger chains and your progressive grocers.” He says that lower-cost supermarket giants—such as Costco, Kroger, and Wegmans—are now also “doing natural and organic” and are competing with Whole Foods as a result.

Not the First Time Whole Foods Tried to Dupe Customers

In 2015, PETA exposed multiple discrepancies between Whole Foods’ “5-Step™” animal-care standards and the daily reality for pigs at Sweet Stem Farm, LLC, in Pennsylvania.

Some pigs were given only 5 square feet of space on a concrete floor, and none of them had access to the farm’s lush green grass. They were left to suffer from fever, lameness, bleeding rectal prolapses, and other conditions for weeks without being examined or treated by a veterinarian, to the eyewitness’s knowledge. And despite the Whole Foods slogan “Our Meat: No Antibiotics, Ever,” many pigs who were given antibiotics were later sent to a slaughterhouse that supplies the grocery chain.

If You Want to Spare Animals Suffering, Go Vegan

As long as profit is involved, animal welfare always takes a back seat. Click the button below to urge Whole Foods to stop duping consumers with dubious “humane meat” claims, and order your free vegan starter kit today.