PITTSBURGH, P.A. / AGILITYPR.NEWS / October 06, 2021 / Statement from 51 Leading NGOs Prompts Grocer to Remove Mountaire Farms’ Deceptive Label from Chicken

Grocery chain Giant Eagle has revealed that it will remove Mountaire Farms’ “One Health Certified” (OHC) label from its store-brand chicken after dialogue with Farm Forward. The OHC label has been widely condemned by a coalition of more than 50 leading public health, environmental, and animal protection organizations. The move comes as Mountaire, the nation’s fourth-largest poultry producer, has been embroiled in controversy over its labor, environmental, and animal welfare practices.

“OHC is the poster child for humanewashing,” said Ben Goldsmith, Chief Strategist at Farm Forward. “Ditching OHC is an important first step, and we will continue to work with Giant Eagle and others as we fight for truth in labeling for meat and dairy products.” 

Co-opted Legitimacy

According to the coalition, which includes Farm Forward, the ASPCA, Consumer Reports, and the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center at George Washington University, among others, “The industry-friendly OHC standards capitalize on borrowed, unearned legitimacy from over 15 years of national and international intergovernmental One Health work to promote interdisciplinary approaches to human, animal and environmental health.” Although touting antibiotics restrictions, OHC allows for repeated, perpetual use of medically important antibiotics for disease control. Despite OHC’s marketing, the label allows standard factory farming practices, such as permanent indoor confinement and genetic modification of broiler birds for extremely rapid growth. 

Industry-Driven

In its recent report on humanewashing, Farm Forward revealed that OHC is the brainchild of Mountaire Farms—which has owned the OHC trademark since 2017. Don Ritter, the Director of Technical Marketing of Mountaire, explained in a 2020 webinar that the primary purpose of a label is not to improve, but to “reduce consumer concerns about buying” a product. 

Concerns about Mountaire have dominated headlines this year: The poultry giant recently agreed to a $205 million settlement for polluting drinking water in Delaware and is now facing a complaint from the North Carolina Justice Center, which alleges that workers are falling ill because of exposure to high levels of chemicals like bleach and ammonia. This summer, Scalawag Magazine further revealed that poultry companies like Mountaire are apparently using a third-party contractor to hire undocumented workers, who are paid less and deprived of adequate time off if they get infected with COVID-19—which is running rampant in the plants’ crowded, dangerous working conditions. Mountaire’s leadership has also come under fire for financial ties to organizations classified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Giant Eagle Changing Label

After reviewing this information, Dan Donovan, Director of Corporate Communications at Giant Eagle, stated to Farm Forward, “Please know that at Giant Eagle we take seriously our responsibility to ensure the welfare and proper handling of all animals that are used in the production of items sold in our stores. … As part of our next product label update, we do have plans to discontinue the inclusion of the One Health Certified label. … We expect this shift to happen over the coming months.”

Giant Eagle’s decision to drop OHC comes as Farm Forward’s petition urging ALDI, the largest retailer currently carrying OHC products, to cut ties with the label and Mountaire surpasses 70,000 signatures. 

“Giant Eagle is taking an important stand against consumer deception by dropping OHC, and we hope other retailers like ALDI and Whole Foods Market that cater specifically to conscientious shoppers will be next in line to address the sea of misleading labels on their shelves,” said Goldsmith.

To learn more about Farm Forward’s anti-humanewashing campaign, visit www.humanewashing.com.