{"id":4890,"date":"2024-04-11T14:36:40","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T18:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/?post_type=publication&p=4890"},"modified":"2024-04-29T15:03:46","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T19:03:46","slug":"dairy-deception-corruption-and-consumer-fraud","status":"publish","type":"publication","link":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/publications\/dairy-deception-corruption-and-consumer-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Dairy Deception: Corruption and Consumer Fraud at Alexandre Family Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Executive Summary<\/h2>\n

This report details the results of a consumer fraud investigation conducted by Farm Forward, with the help of rancher whistleblowers, that uncovered systemic deception, cruelty, and animal abuse by arguably the leading higher welfare, Organic, Certified Humane, and “regenerative” dairy operation: Alexandre Family Farm, LLC. Our own eyewitness experiences in investigating this report, coupled with extensive documentation\u2014including video footage, photographic evidence, ownership documents, a veterinary evaluation from a large animal veterinarian who works in the dairy industry, and a review by leading animal welfare scientist Gail Hanson, DVM\u2014together provide damning evidence that Alexandre, in contrast to their public claims and certifications, practices a business model that ensures<\/em> that cows routinely suffer egregiously and that diseased animals are sold into the human food supply chain<\/strong>. Given Alexandre\u2019s leading reputation in the industry, Alexandre\u2019s failures suggest that decades of industrialization make it nearly impossible for modern dairies to produce their products in line with public expectations.<\/p>\n

The enormous scale of preventable animal disease and suffering documented at Alexandre reveal loopholes in its certifications that function to deceive consumers, so-called humanewashing<\/strong>. Perversely, Organic certifications frequently function to incentivize farmers to withhold needed medical treatment from diseased animals<\/strong> and, polling shows,1<\/a> aid in humanewashing by giving the public the false sense that these certification standards align with their values. Many manufacturers that incorporate Alexandre\u2019s dairy into their own products\u2014including toddler formula\u2014highlight Alexandre’s welfare claims to increase their own sales, expanding the humanewashing (and such products may not identify Alexandre by name and so are hard for consumers to avoid).<\/p>\n

One of the most dramatic findings of our investigation is that in more than a hundred videos and photos Farm Forward has documented dozens of cases of serious violations <\/strong>of even the relatively weak Organic, Certified Humane, and other certifications that Alexandre touts in its advertising, yet Alexandre retains those certifications.<\/p>\n

Structural conditions in the dairy industry, and particularly in Organic certification programs, may make socially unacceptable forms of animal suffering\u2014 like failure to adequately treat obvious injuries and illnesses\u2014the rule rather than the exception. Given that these welfare problems are occurring in \u201cbest of the best\u201d operations that, as of the release of this report, remain in good standing with their certifications, it is our recommendation that for the foreseeable future, consumers who wish to avoid animal cruelty steer clear of products made from cows\u2019 milk.<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

The Historical Moment<\/em><\/h3>\n

When the country\u2019s most diverse, lactose-intolerant, and environmentally conscious generation, Gen Z, turned its back on cows\u2019 milk, it put industrial dairy\u2019s back up against a wall. Americans\u2019 annual cow milk consumption had already fallen by two-thirds between 1945 and 2022, from 45 gallons per person to 15.2<\/a> Members of Gen Z drink even less than the rest of the public, in 2022 buying 20 percent less cows\u2019 milk than the national average.3<\/a> \u201cWe lost almost an entire generation of milk drinkers,\u201d noted U.S. Representative Glenn Thompson (R-PA), leader of the House Committee on Agriculture.4<\/a><\/a> Meanwhile, in 2022 just over 40 percent of U.S. households purchased plant milks5<\/a> like oat, soy, and almond, which occupy ever-increasing footage of grocery store shelves: their global revenue of $15 billion in 2015 is expected to grow to more than $35 billion by the end of 2028.6<\/a><\/p>\n

The Labels<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"\"As the dairy industry tries to convince Gen Z that it offers a humane, desirable, relevant, and climate-friendly product, dairies apply appealing labels to milk cartons: \u201cpasture-raised,\u201d \u201cgrass-fed,\u201d \u201ceco-friendly,\u201d even \u201ccarbon neutral,\u201d and the recently introduced \u201cregenerative.\u201d Most of these labels are meant to convey in part\u2014as phrased by Alexandre Family Farms, LLC (Alexandre)\u2014\u201cThese are some happy grass grazed cows,\u201d7<\/a> \u201cI am one happy cow,\u201d8<\/a> and \u201cLife on our pastures is a happy one!\u201d9<\/a> But how can consumers know that these marketing labels and statements fairly represent the actual conditions on the farm, and aren\u2019t simply more humanewashing?10<\/a><\/p>\n

The Certifications<\/em><\/h3>\n

Enter third-party certifications like \u201cCertified Humane by Humane Farm Animal Care,\u201d to persuade consumers that on-farm conditions are as humane and environmentally sound as the labels purport. And it\u2019s working, at least for the dairies. Alexandre’s customers likely believe that they are supporting \u201chappy cows.\u201d11<\/a> Well-intentioned consumers buy into both the label claims and certifications, paying a hefty premium for cows\u2019 milk from the dairies that sell to \u201cethical\u201d retailers like Whole Foods Market, which markets their partnership with Alexandre as \u201cRestarting Dairy.\u201d12<\/a> Alexandre boasts a number of premium animal welfare certifications and was named a Whole Foods Market Supplier of the Year in 2021.13<\/a> But given the evidence that we uncovered, Alexandre’s welfare claims appear designed to deceive.<\/p>\n

The Animal Welfare Violations<\/em><\/h3>\n

In more than 15 years of advocacy Farm Forward has seen the worst of the worst on factory farms. Yet our own eyewitness experiences combined with the videos, photographs, and research the rancher whistleblowers provided to us documenting Alexandre’s practices shocked even us.<\/p>\n

Dozens of videos and photos depict Alexandre’s numerous indefensible animal welfare violations. Far from indicating isolated incidents, or physical abuse of a few cows by \u201ca few bad apples\u201d among Alexandre staff, the footage points to routine management practices, driven from the top, that lead to systemic, egregious suffering.<\/strong> In addition to what the videos depict, whistleblowers working with and around Alexandre provided photographic evidence of more than a dozen calves who were kept isolated from their mothers and died; whistleblowers also described serious lapses in management that resulted in, for example, the extreme suffering of hundreds of cows and the violent deaths of dozens of cows.<\/p>\n

The Report<\/em><\/h3>\n

The report\u2019s first section, \u201cAnimal Abuse at Alexandre,\u201d documents the condition of cattle videoed, photographed and\/or witnessed by the whistleblowers or by Farm Forward staff, as well an assessment of video evidence from a large farmed animal veterinarian specializing in dairy. Their evaluations, along with an independent evaluation by farmed animal welfare expert Gail Hansen, DVM, all point to dismal welfare conditions at Alexandre.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The report\u2019s second section, \u201cAnimal Welfare Certifications Failed to Prevent Suffering,\u201d demonstrates that the certifications supposedly verifying Alexandre\u2019s welfare practices\u2014USDA Organic, Certified Humane by Humane Farm Animal Care, and Regenerative Organic Certified\u2014did not prevent, or apparently even detect, the abuses at Alexandre. In fact, documentary evidence indicates that the Organic program and Organic certifiers were notified of abuses and potential violations of Organic standards and yet the issues persisted. Sadly, when combined with the market pressures in the dairy industry, a requirement of the Organic program\u2014the prohibition of the use of antibiotic treatment of animals marketed with the label\u2014may have perpetuated and even worsened<\/em> systemic animal suffering at Alexandre. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Third, in \u201cRipples of Humanewashing,\u201d this report shows that Alexandre\u2019s claims of ethical production expand through the market through food manufacturers who purchase its dairy products, including a company producing toddler formula. These \u201cethical dairy\u201d companies spread Alexandre\u2019s deception far beyond the products that Alexandre sells directly to consumers.<\/p>\n

When the certifications with the highest animal welfare standards don\u2019t prevent appalling animal suffering even at the leading higher welfare regenerative dairy, we are left to wonder what is happening at other big dairies, and whether higher welfare dairy is possible for today\u2019s grocery markets. Given current market dynamics, big dairy may be a welfare problem that cannot be solved.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Widening the focus from just Alexandre, the appendix \u201cStructural Suffering\u201d explores how the organizational structure<\/em> of large scale organic and conventional dairies depresses animal welfare and leads to the staggeringly high annual death rate for cows used for dairy, and suggests directions for future research.<\/p>\nRead the report<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4894,"template":"","publication-category":[16,50],"class_list":["post-4890","publication","type-publication","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","publication-category-consumer-advocacy","publication-category-farming"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication\/4890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/publication"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"publication-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication-category?post=4890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}