A Giant Step Away from Misleading Labeling

Recently, the Maryland-based grocery chain Giant Food entered into a settlement agreement with the animal advocacy organization Compassion Over Killing (COK) in a lawsuit over Giant's use of the "Animal Care Certified" logo on eggs sold in its Washington, D.C. stores.

Giant Food and Compassion Over Killing issued this joint statement:

Compassion Over Killing, Inc. ("COK") and Giant of Maryland, LCC ("Giant") have agreed to settle all claims against Giant in a lawsuit that COK brought in the Superior Court of D.C. against Giant and three other parties regarding the use of the United Egg Producers' "Animal Care Certified" logo on cartons of shell eggs. Giant has agreed to remove this logo from cartons of Giant store brand eggs. Meanwhile, COK's lawsuit will go forward against the remaining three defendants, which will allow the Court to resolve this important issue.

What is the "Animal Care Certified" logo and what is the big controversy?

In response to criticism for its notoriously poor record on animal welfare, a trade group called the United Egg Producers (UEP) announced in 2002 that it had created a new marketing program to improve the public’s perception of its industry and avert potential government regulation.

The idea was to update the UEP’s voluntary animal welfare guidelines and allow any egg producer following those guidelines to label its cartons with a logo reading "Animal Care Certified." What the logo fails to disclose, however, is that the revised UEP guidelines allow nearly all of the same abuses the egg industry had been known for—most notably, intensive confinement in battery cages.

While the new guidelines do call for slightly more cage space than was the previous norm, each hen still has far less floor space than a sheet of letter-sized paper, leaving her barely enough room even to move, let alone engage in nearly any of her natural behaviors. One scientist on the UEP’s committee that created the guidelines has called the amount of space allotted to each hen in an "Animal Care Certified" battery cage "meager." Another member of the committee resigned.

Besides drawing criticism from animal protection organizations and its own advisors, the UEP also caught the critical eye of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The BBB ruled in November 2003—a ruling that was upheld on appeal in May 2004—that the "Animal Care Certified" logo amounts to misleading advertising.

An August 29, 2004, USA Today article titled, "BBB: 'Animal Care Certified' Isn’t All It's Cracked Up to Be," reports that the "BBB's national advertising review board again ruled against the egg producers, saying the ["Animal Care Certified"] seals give the impression the eggs are produced by hens 'accorded a more humane level of care than is actually the case.'"

"Rampant Animal Cruelty"

In August 2004, the Better Business Bureau urged the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the agency tasked with enforcing federal consumer protection laws, to take legal action against those egg producers and distributors using the misleading label. More than one year later, the FTC has not yet acted on the Better Business Bureau’s referral. COK decided not to wait for the government to protect consumers. In February 2005, COK filed a false advertising lawsuit in the District of Columbia against several companies using the "Animal Care Certified" logo, including Giant Food.

According to Erica Meier, executive director of COK, the organization which filed the original complaint with the Better Business Bureau, "The ‘Animal Care Certified’ logo represents both rampant animal cruelty as well as blatant consumer fraud."

In September, Giant Food and COK settled out of court, with Giant agreeing to remove the logo from its store-brand eggs sold within the District of Columbia.

"Giant Food has taken a good step in the right direction," said Paul Shapiro, manager of The HSUS’s factory farming campaign. "At a bare minimum, grocery chains should not be misleading their customers by using the deceptive ‘Animal Care Certified’ logo. Additionally, they should also become more socially responsible and stop carrying eggs from caged birds altogether."

Several of the top socially responsible grocery chains have already made the decision to stop carrying battery cage eggs, including Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats Natural Marketplace, Earth Fare, Jimbo's...Naturally!, Mother's Market & Kitchen, Lassen's Natural Foods, and PCC Natural Markets.

With Giant Food beginning to back away from the deceptive "Animal Care Certified" logo, Compassion Over Killing’s lawsuit against the remaining defendants will proceed.

Related Links

'No Battery Eggs' Campaign Exposes the Hard-Boiled Truth about Laying Hens

A Brief Guide to Egg Carton Labels and Their Relevance to Animal Welfare

Laying Hens Fact Sheet

Trader Joe’s Still Hiding Behind the So-Called "Animal Care Certified" Program