“Humane” Meat Scam! MFA Files False Advertising Complaint Against Foster Farms and AHA

Earlier today, MFA filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Foster Farms and American Humane Association (AHA) for misleading consumers by claiming that Foster Farms chicken is “humane. The complaint is based on graphic undercover video exposing workers punching, kicking, and scalding birds alive at a Foster Farms chicken slaughterhouse that is certified as “humane by AHA. MFA is asking the Commission to take action against AHA and Foster Farms for torturing millions of animals and lying to consumers about it through placement of the “American Humane Certified label on packages of chicken meat as well as false claims made in advertisements and on websites.

The shocking undercover footage, recorded at several Foster Farms facilities in Fresno County, California, reveals:
  • Workers punching and tormenting animals before violently slamming them into shackles
  • Workers carelessly throwing baby chicks onto the ground with no regard for their welfare
  • Evidence of birds scalded alive in hot water feather-removal tanks
  • Chickens bred to grow so unnaturally fast they often suffer painful leg deformities and other injuries
You can watch the undercover video here:


AHA “standards, which cover more than 1 billion animals, fall far below those of virtually every other humane certification program, and barely exceed even the minimal standards set by the factory farming industry itself. According to Consumer Reports, AHA’s program “does not require certain standards that consumers are likely to expect from a welfare label, and producers can be certified without fulfilling 100% of the requirements. In addition to Foster Farms, AHA has certified some of the cruelest factory farms in North America, including Butterball and Hillandale Farms, which have also been caught on video abusing animals.

AHA certified producers like Foster Farms are permitted to cram hundreds of thousands of birds inside dark, windowless sheds, with no access to sunlight or outdoor space for their entire lives. AHA standards allow factory farms to mutilate animals without painkillers, including burning off the tips of birds’ sensitive beaks. Despite endorsing less cruel systems in 2010, AHA also continues to allow Foster Farms and other producers to slaughter chickens using outdated systems that dump, shackle, shock, and slit the throats of conscious animals. Birds subjected to such killing systems routinely endure physical violence from workers who throw, kick, and punch them.

Don’t buy the lie! Please take action by signing the petition to Foster Farms and AHA, telling them to stop lying to consumers and torturing animals. And remember, the best way to help chickens and other farmed animals is by leaving them off our plates.

For more information, visit www.AmericanHumaneScam.com.