. However, an investigation by the United States Department of Agriculture found no evidence of abuse or mistreatment of the cows, and the products were found to be safe. Beyond audits, however, there is more to do to raise the bar on animal welfare. fairlife discontinued Our Response to the 2019 Abuse Video - fairlife Animal Welfare How We Responded To Reports of Animal Cruelty at a Former Supplying Farm After the 2019 reports of animal cruelty discovered on a supplying farm, fairlife took the following actions: fairlife immediately stopped accepting milk from the supplier in question. As we continue to grow and bring in new farming partners, we will work with them to gain Validus Certification. The letter stated that the decision was based on the release of several undercover videos by animal-rights group Animal Recovery Mission (ARM) and the impact of COVID-19 on business. Edgar Gardozo-Vasquez, 36, is one of three former employees of popular agritourism destination Fair Oaks Farms charged with a misdemeanor for animal cruelty following the release of undercover video showing workers kicking and throwing young calves, officials said in June. When dairy cows no longer produced milk or were too sick, workers told the ARM investigator that those dairy cows would go to McDonalds for Big Macs or to become dog food. The Newton County Sheriffs Office of Indiana is currently investigating the incident. Employees were observed slapping, kicking, punching, pushing, throwing and slamming calves. Select Milk Producers Inc. Fair Oaks Farms LLC and Mike and Sue McCloskey, the founders of Fair Oaks Farms and fairlife, over claims of allegedly misleading product labeling. There was not a single time when the cows received medical care even though they suffered from injuries and infections. Animal Recovery Mission (ARM) is an organization promoting the cessation of severe animal cruelty. Jan 6, 2020 Coca-Cola's vision for a broader beverage portfolio includes dairy brand Fairlife, which the company backed last year after reports of animal abuse at one of its suppliers. Fairlife milk is labeled with promises to consumers that they provide "extraordinary care and comfort for our cows" and even encourages their customers to visit their flagship farm "so you can see for yourself." Indianapolis attorney Colin Flora, who among other things, specializes in class-action cases, told IndyStar the case has a decent chance of success, but could encounter a hurdle called the puffery defense. vOut +=', '; He was accompanied to the defense table by an acquaintance who was prepared to work as his interpreter in Newton Superior Court, as he faced a felony charge of torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal and a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty connected to the videos released in June. Operation Fairlife On June 12, 2019, ARM released a second and shocking investigation following its Operation Fair Oaks Farm Dairy Adventure in Indiana. For female cows to produce milk for farmers to take, farmers must first artificially inseminate the cows once a baby is born, farmers must separate mother and calf, otherwise the calf would nurse from his or her mother. Operation FairLife from ARM Investigations on Vimeo. 01/02/2020. | Business Advice. The company also promised to increase animal welfare checks and will no longer get dairy from farms that violate its animal abuse policy. But dairy groups say such instances aren't the normand that they're just as horrified as anyone else by seeing videos of animal abuse. I dont know that he mutilated or tortured an invertebrate animal, based on the video that I saw. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Parents are prioritizing their childrens health and wellness with 66% indicating they give their child nutritional supplements once a day*. Food labeling and marketing return vOut; Employees were observed slapping, kicking, punching, pushing, throwing and slamming calves, ARM said in a written statement. }); Asked about this, Ryan Kaiser, managing partner at law firm Kaiser IP (which does not represent any of the parties) said: "We wont get a chance to see how that argument would have faired since the parties are entering into a negotiated settlement. Transportation Working together with our supplying farms, fairlife has created specific standards that define transportation responsibility. Although many dairy companies promise animal welfare, the reality is that animals are still mistreated. Our holistic approach to animal welfare has four parts: Were committed to learning and leading. A lawsuit filed at around the same time also accused dairy brandTillamook of presenting a deceptively bucolic image of a brand sourcing milk from cows grazing on local small farms, when most of its milk came from industrial scale factory farms. This Fair Oaks Farms Fairlife Dairy is one of several dairies belonging to Select Milk Producers Inc, which is also the producer of the Fairlife label. All farm staff have a collective responsibility to promote and protect the well-being of each team member so that a culture is created that upholds the values of care and compassion for animals and people. Between February and April 2019, an ARM Investigator was hired as a milker by a Fair Oaks Farms Fairlife dairy in Indiana. They must also sign the Dairy Cattle Care Ethics Agreement on an annual basis. Employees were observed slapping, kicking, punching, pushing, throwing and slamming calves, ARM said in a statement at the time, as per TODAY. Coca-Cola, in a . Fairlife, stylized as fa!rlife, is an American brand of ultra-filtered milk distributed in Canada, China and the United States by The Coca-Cola Company.In the United States, the milk comes in five flavors: reduced fat, chocolate, strawberry, fat-free, and whole milk. Based in Indiana, the farm supplies milk to the popular milk brand Fairlife a partner of the Coca-Cola company .. Derrer added that during their most recent legislative session, Indianas legislators made changes to the states animal welfare laws, which include harsher punishment for those found guilty of animal abuse. "We have been in contact with fairlife about this situation and have full confidence in their management team to urgently address this issue with Fair Oaks Farms, which is a third-party supplier to fairlife. July 13, 2022 by Maureen Vega. The images sparked nationwide protests and boycotts of the states largest dairy. But weve got video., Recommended Reading: Bergen County Animal Shelter & Adoption Center. A Fairlife Milk Investigation Revealed Animal Abuse At Fair Oaks Farm In early 2019, an investigator from the animal rights organization Animal Recovery Mission went undercover by getting a job as a milker at Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana, which supplies milk to Fairlife , according to the organization. In our 10 years of being undercover, we have never seen such consistent, constant abuse to a newborn baby animal, ARM founder Richard Couto said, according to WMAQ. People all over the world were horrified to see evidence of such unnecessary abuse at the farm. The employees claimed that the company's cows were being mistreated and that the company's products were unsafe. Animals need and deserve more than the bare essentials, which is why we and our farming partners are working to create policies and robust animal care priorities that reinforce these values. Its our policy that all supplying farm employees must sign a Cow Care Agreement as part of their required training and continuously live by it. This resulted in extreme pain and suffering by the calves, and in some cases permanent injury and even death.. | 11 a.m. In January 2020, Coca-Cola bought out its partners to take full ownership of Fairlife. Due to the shocking footage, Fairlife has received backlash from animal rights' groups across the country. Not to mention, the treatment of cows described by ARMs investigator is, unfortunately, standard practice across the dairy industry. Manufacturers What topped it all of was the oxymoron of it all. fairlife only works with farms that have a zero tolerance policy for animal abuse, and the proper care of the animals that supply the milk for our products continues to be a top priority. After a graphic video filmed at Indianas Fair Oaks Farms one of the countrys largest dairy operations was released earlier this month, more consumers are calling for retailers to cut ties with brands that have histories of documented animal abuse. KENTLAND, Ind. We have continued regular, unannounced audits of all farms that supply milk to fairlife. 01 A review of the bull abuse . People all over the world were horrified to see evidence of such unnecessary abuse at the farm. Some of the violations observed are as follows: Maltreatment and Excessive Abuse Dairy of Cows Cows tormented, kicked, hit with shovels, and stabbed with screwdrivers by vet tech crews and animal caregivers. In addition to Fairlife, the defendants in the case were Fairlifes parent company, the Coca-Cola Company; Fair Oaks Farms, where the footage of animal abuse was taken; Mike McCloskey and Sue McCloskey, the owner of Fairlife and Fair Oaks Farms; and Select Milk Producers, Inc., according to a website dedicated to the settlement. Coca-Cola owned ultra-filtered milk brand fairlife has agreed to step up animal welfare oversight at supplier farms as part of a $21m agreement to settle a series of lawsuits filed in the wake of . Subscribe to Food Dive for top news, trends & analysis, The free newsletter covering the top industry headlines, OCHO Candy Launches New Plant-Based Caramel Line, SimplyV Launches Plant-Based Cream Cheese in the U.S. in Foodservice and Grocery Retail, The Bornk Tuna Sandwich is Back at Erbert & Gerbert's, By signing up to receive our newsletter, you agree to our, Jewel-Osco, Tony's Fresh Market and Pete's Fresh Market. News & Analysis on Food & Beverage Development & Technology. We are proud to report that we have not had another incident on our farm.. The new laws will go into effect on July 1. Interest in intuitive eating is reportedly gaining as much traction with consumers as the ketogenic diet. We will also continue to work with Fair Oaks Farms to ensure specific actions are taken to address this situation and uphold our high standards for animal care.". Dont Miss: South Jersey Regional Animal Shelter. On Jan. 3, 2020, Coca-Cola acquired the remaining equity stake in fairlife. Fairlife's 2021 stewardship report said it spent more than $8 million on supporting animal welfare standards at its suppliers and exploring new methods and technologies to improve animal. Animal rights activists released undercover footage of workers at the farm kicking and punching cows, as well as using electric prods on them. And when mother cows can no longer lactate, they are of no value to farms so the only financially viable solution is to send them to slaughter. For people to show care and compassion for animals requires commitment to their own care and dignity. Nicole Axworthy is the News Editor at VegNews and author of the cookbook DIY Vegan. Drinski did not attend Fridays hearing and did not immediately respond to a message with questions about the case. On June 4, Animal Recovery Mission released the first of a series of videos that show workers at Indiana's Fair Oaks Farms kicking and throwing calves and engaging in other forms of alleged animal abuse. Your email address will not be published. Google Earth time-lapse of Carmel between 1984-2020. Coca-Cola, which has distributed Fairlife products across the country since 2014, also released a statement. The effort at damage control was fast and comprehensive. I typically don't click on videos depicting animal abuse allegations without first doing a little research of my own. Homeless man turns down bus ticket, builds unlikely friendship with police . ", As to the size of the settlement, he added:"While Im not privy to any behind the scenes information in this case, Im sure the settlement is reflective of the information that came out during discovery and the potential liability to the defendants if the case proceeded to trial.". Fairlife, which is owned by Coca-Cola, quickly cut ties with the dairy after the video first went viral. Fairlife's website states that after ARM exposed Fairlife's cruelty, the dairy company stopped buying milk from Fair Oaks, and established "a robust welfare program" with their other farms, which Fairlife has put over $8 million into. In early 2019, people from the Animal Recovery Mission (ARM) went undercover to the Fair Oaks Farm in Indiana and recorded countless acts of gruesome abuse towards the cows. Read Also: All About Animals Veterinary Services, Since then, we have taken vigilant, unwavering steps to actively monitor all human-animal interaction 24 hours a day by installing cameras throughout our farms, and bolstered these efforts with hiring an on-site animal welfare expert and conducting regular third-party audits to confirm our monitoring practices, to ensure we havent overlooked anything, the company said. The World Health Organization says mobility is critical for healthy ageing, as its a core concern seniors face. Were retaining our external advisors to inform us of cutting edge scientific, technological, and ethical developments that are critical to shaping our discussions and decisions about our suppliers animal care practices and the leadership role we have in sustainable dairy production. Humane washing efforts can range from using terms like natural or responsibly raised on labels or in marketing, to the imagery on product labels or in video advertisements showing animals in picturesque green pastures to multimillion dollar, multi-platform marketing campaigns misrepresenting products from animals raised on large factory farms as local food coming from family farms. Weve got thousands of em! Stories worth watching 16 videos. According to court filings, class members (anyone in the US who purchased fairlife products for personal use on or before April 27) are entitled to up to $20 with no valid proof of purchase, and up to $80 with valid proof of purchase (while the handful of named plaintiffs might receive $3,500 each), although claims will be subject to a pro rata increaseupward or downwarddepending upon the number filed., Coca-Cola and fairlife have also agreed to work with two unnamed nonprofits to implement significant injunctive relief that would create a monitoring and compliance program, aimed at ensuring their cows receive humane treatment., In an email to FoodNavigator-USA, a fairlife spokesperson said: We stopped sourcing milk from Fair Oak Farms immediately following the 2019 incident and we have not sourced milk from them since., The spokesperson added:Animal welfare is and will always be a top priority for fairlife. "I am disappointed for not being aware of this kind of awful treatment occurring and I take full responsibility for what has happened." It's our policy that all supplying farm employees must sign a Cow Care Agreement as part of their required training and continuously live by it. , All of our full-time supplying dairy partners are audited by Validus, an independent third-party animal welfare certification firm, and are certified in animal welfare, worker care, and environmental practices.. Now, two years later, a Fairlife milk settlement has been reached, at the price of $21 million. On Wednesday, ARM indicated it may release more videos. However, before ARM released its footage of Fair Oaks, Fairlife had made plenty of claims in regards to animal welfare. After all, its their product and their livelihood at risk since most calves sell for between $500 $1,000. "Even though we had good practices and training, and we had good practices in documentation and all those things for the employees, it didn't work.". Thats why weve established the fairlife Animal Welfare Advisory Council, an independent council that consists of nationally and internationally recognized experts in animal welfare. Something else could happen. We apologize for any inconvenience., Tonys Express, which is also based in the Chicago metro area, said it will no longer carry Fairlife products in light of the devastating news.. Employee, Partner and Consumer Feedback We recognize the importance of having a continuing dialogue around animal agriculture, as its through working together that we can provide solutions to the challenge of providing great nutrition to a growing global population. This is hardly the response you would expect from an organization that gets it. Humans will also die someday, yet no one wants to live miserable lives. The founder of ARM, Couto, said: "Fair Oaks Farms was the worst abuse towards newborn babies that [he had] ever seen." { On June 4, 2019, ARM released a four-minute video documenting egregious abuse of calves at the farm including calves who were stabbed with steel bars, hit in the face with hard plastic milking bottles, kneed in the spine, and subjected to extreme temperatures sometimes leading to death. Coca-cola Hotline We require that all supplying farms provide access to a 24/7 anonymous hotline to report concerns of animal abuse, violations of animal well-being, or disregard for worker policies and programs. Click on our CALL TO ACTION box for advice on ways to support this investigation. 2022, fairlife, LLC. fairlife and its supplying farms are therefore prioritizing caretaker education that emphasizes the understanding that cows and calves are sentient animals deserving of compassion and respect. fairlife says it immediately discontinued the use of all milk from the farm and conducted multiple . The line of delicious, lactose-free fairlife products includes: fairlife ultra-filtered milk, which has 50% more protein and 50% less sugar than regular milk; fairlife with DHA, ultra-filtered milk with DHA Omega-3 fatty acids to support brain health; fairlife YUP!, a line of flavored milks; fairlife CorePower High Protein Shakes, a sports In the wake of two videos being released showing animals being abused at Fair. The verdict of these lawsuits will likely have an impact on future animal abuse cases, but for now Fairlife will be focusing on its reputation. Many of you have reached out to express your disappointment, heartbreak and anger regarding the videos released yesterday and we want you to know that we share those same feelings, the company posted on Facebook. These videos show the abuse at Fair Oaks Farm is not anomalous, as Fairlife has argued. What Fairlife did to its animals can be forgiven but not forgotten. You May Like: San Luis Obispo County Animal Services. Since the people from the Animal Recovery Mission were the ones who conducted the investigation and brought the truth out, they should be allowed to do monthly check-ins with the farms. Dr. Hake will oversee fairlife audits and work with farmers on improvement plans. In the wake of the controversy following the video's release, Fair Oaks Farms' founder Mike McCloskey announced that his company will be taking full responsibility and is putting actions in place to ensure this never happens again. On Wednesday, Fairlife LLC, which is distributed by the Coca-Cola Company in the U.S., announced that it had suspended all milk deliveries from the Fair Oaks Farms dairy farm identified in the video. The founder of ARM, Couto, said: Fair Oaks Farms was the worst abuse towards newborn babies that [he had] ever seen. The video was published in the summer of 2019 and went viral, sparking countless protests and boycotts. The effort at damage control was fast and comprehensive. Fairlife said that it has not sourced milk from Fair Oaks since 2019. Claims like these inspire people to choose these products, because they believe that they are better. Since its founding, Fairlife has advertised itself as believing that "exceptional cow care and sustainable farming practices yield higher quality milk," and celebrated its eco-friendly methods, like turning cow manure into biofuel for its trucks. Consumers worried about supporting farms with inhumane practices may look for these brands and labels, which designate dairy producers that comply with the ASPCAs standards. The footage reportedly showed Fairlife cows being slapped, dragged, pushed, and otherwise abused at the flagship farm. Milk company Fairlife was the subject of a major controversy in 2020, when undercover footage of employees physically abusing cows went viral, despite the companys claims that their cows were humanely treated. Edgar Gardozo-Vasquez, the only person who has been arrested in connection to abuse shown in an animal rights groups series of graphic, undercover videos shot at Indianas largest dairy, Fair Oaks Farms, was back in court Friday, out of a federal immigration detention center and with what his attorney told a judge was an offer out there that could take a felony count to a misdemeanor. All three companies issued statements, posted special web pagesupdating the public and committed to cleaning up internal operations and adopting new standards to avoid further instances of animal abuse at supplying dairies. Fair Oaks Farms, headquartered in Fair Oaks, Indiana, and The Fairlife Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, have created brands about how their product is sourced based on promoting the proper and humane care of the cows. Supplying farms are directly responsible for arranging for safe transportation both on and off their farms, irrespective of animal ownership. It's located in Fair Oaks, Ind., just off I-65, about 109 miles north of Indianapolis and 76 miles . Fair Oaks Farms is the flagship farm for Fairlife, a national brand of higher protein, higher calcium and lower fat milk. Fairlife Animal Abuse - Howler News In early 2019, people from the Animal Recovery Mission (ARM) went undercover to the Fair Oaks Farm in Indiana and recorded countless acts of gruesome abuse towards the cows. Three former employees who were seen kicking and throwing calves in the first video released by ARM were charged with animal cruelty last week. Since 2019, fairlife has invested more than $8 million in industry-leading animal welfare programs and policies to maintain the proper treatment of the animals at our supplying farms. Fairlife has admitted that the calves seen in the undercover footage taken at Fair Oaks Farms were mistreated. . She is a graduate of Ball State University with a major in journalism and . So even though Fairlife claims to be making efforts to improve animal welfare and sustainability at its supplier farms, there is no way for consumers to truly monitor it plus, exploitation of the cows reproductive system and eventual slaughter are both unavoidable in the dairy industry. Cows are emotionally complex animals, just like us.