ALDF Animal Legal Defense
Fund
June 2018
Trader Joe's grocery chain pulls misleading egg cartons nationwide that featured false pastoral images of hens. In response to the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s action, Trader Joe’s is pulling the packaging not only in California, but nationwide.
On June 28 the Animal Legal Defense Fund announces a settlement in
its consumer protection lawsuit against Trader Joe’s Company. The lawsuit,
filed in California Superior Court on behalf of Trader Joe’s egg purchaser
Carolyn Claybaugh, argued that Trader Joe’s was violating multiple
California consumer protection laws by selling cage-free eggs in cartons
with imagery misrepresenting the conditions in which egg-laying hens are
confined. In a laudable move, Trader Joe’s responded quickly, discontinuing
the use of the misleading packaging nationwide as part of a settlement.
The lawsuit took aim at Trader Joe’s Cage-Free eggs packaging. Cartons were
emblazoned with images of hens foraging outdoors in green, wide-open
pastures. But in reality, these eggs come from hens who spend their entire
lives inside massive industrial hen houses without any outdoor access. Hens
are packed into warehouses with thousands of other birds and never set foot
in grass or engage in their natural behaviors outdoors. The lawsuit
contended that the images used on the package mislead consumers about the
conditions in which hens were raised.
“There’s widespread confusion among consumers about egg labeling due to the
failure of the federal government to properly regulate egg labels. It’s
important for consumers to realize that ’cage-free’ doesn’t mean
‘cruelty-free,’” says Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen
Wells. “Consumers are demanding production methods that cause less animal
suffering. Unfortunately, the lack of labeling regulations allows egg
producers to mislead consumers with undefined terms like ‘natural,’
‘cage-free,’ and ‘free range,’ or with slogans and imagery depicting idyllic
scenarios that do not match the cruel reality of life for most laying hens.”
In 2010, the Animal Legal Defense Fund petitioned several federal agencies
to issue regulations requiring accurate labeling of egg packaging so
consumers could make informed choices. Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Trade
Commission refused to do so despite their statutory mandates. This forces
concerned citizens to hold producers and sellers of eggs accountable through
false advertising laws.
In response to the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s action, Trader Joe’s is
pulling the packaging not only in California, but nationwide.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund thanks the law firm of Fazio Micheletti LLP
for serving as co-counsel in this case.
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