Casey’s Foods in Naperville joins a rising checklist of grocery shops pulling the favored Fairlife model of ultra-filtered milk off their cabinets Wednesday after an animal rights group launched an undercover video the day earlier than exhibiting alleged abuse of calves at an Indiana dairy farm owned by the milk firm.
Officials with the longtime impartial grocer mentioned Fairlife merchandise had been eliminated Wednesday afternoon after retailer administration watched the “disturbing video,” and retailer leaders need clients to know that the humane therapy of animals is necessary.
Casey’s employees is ready as police examine the allegations earlier than deciding what to do subsequent.
Earlier within the day, Itasca-based Jewel-Osco, the biggest grocery chain within the Chicago space with 187 shops, together with three in Naperville, introduced it was eradicating all Fairlife merchandise because of this of the “inhumane therapy of animals” proven within the video.
“At Jewel-Osco we try to keep up excessive animal welfare requirements throughout all areas of our enterprise, and work in partnership with our distributors to guarantee these requirements are upheld,” the corporate’s assertion mentioned. “We apologize for any inconvenience.”
The video launched Tuesday by Animal Recovery Mission and has since gone viral on social media was taken by an undercover investigator posing as a calf care worker at Fair Oaks Farms, situated about two hours southwest of Naperville in Jasper County, Ind.
The video exhibits new child calves being thrown in and out of their huts by staff, younger calves being kicked within the head, and the carcasses of useless calves piled collectively within the filth. The footage moreover exhibits staff putting calves with their palms and metal rods and being burnt with branding irons.
Fair Oaks is the flagship farm for Fairlife, a nationwide model of increased protein, increased calcium and decrease fats milk. It’s additionally one of the biggest dairy farms within the nation, promotes its animal welfare practices and hosts Dairy Adventure excursions the place individuals can get a “fun-filled look at the life of a cow.”