Rise of the Animal Welfare Industrial Complex
2005 17 Animal Organizations endorse Whole Foods' Animal Compassionate Standards
2005 Farm Sanctuary co-founder
Gene Baur and PETA Director of Vegan Campaigns
Bruce Friedrich participate in development of Whole Foods' "
Animal Compassionate Standards" for the use and killing of animals
2005 Whole Foods receives PETA "Proggy" award as "
best animal-friendly retailer"
2005 Humane Society of the United States
(HSUS) CEO Wayne Pacelle and HSUS Farm Animal Program Director Paul
Shapiro (also co-founder of Compassion Over Killing)
privately meet with egg industry operators to collaborate on launch of "cage-free" egg initiative
2005 Whole Foods CEO John Mackey featured as keynote speaker at animal conference and
introduced as a vegan by Farm Sanctuary co-founder Gene Baur
2005 VegNews magazine names John Mackey Corporate Executive of the Year
2006 Major media coverage, including
article in New York Times,
cements Whole Foods' reputation as an "animal compassionate" meat
retailer with a "vegan" CEO, and the role of animal advocacy
organizations in promoting "humane" labeling schemes.
2006 HSUS's affiliate, Humane Society International,
announces "Humane Choice"program, offering products from animals who "basically live their lives as they would have done on Old MacDonald's farm"
2007 Taking Action for Animals Conference
features three animal farmers as speakers, including rancher Nicolette Hahn Niman. Major sponsors of conference include HSUS, Farm Sanctuary and Whole Foods.
2007 HSUS and Farm Sanctuary
lead formation of advocacy-industry Prop. 2 legislative coalition
"Californians for Humane Farms" with Niman Ranch amongst industry
partners
2007 HSUS and Farm Sanctuary partner with restaurateur Wolfgang Puck to promote new standards for the use and killing of animals
2007 Farm Forward is founded, with board members including
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey and PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich
2008 Eggology announces HSUS endorsement of their egg products, HSUS denies endorsement despite numerous confirming documents
2008 Restaurateur Wolfgang Puck
named guest of honor at HSUS Genesis Awards
2009 Whole Foods CEO John Mackey appointed to HSUS
Board of Directors
2009 Wayne Pacelle joins the
board of Whole Foods' Global Animal Partnership
2009 Former HSUS Vice President (and co-founder of Compassion Over Killing)
Miyun Park assumes leadership of Whole Foods' Global Animal Partnership
2010 HSUS and Farm Sanctuary lead legislative coalition
Ohioans for Humane Farms, which includes animal-exploiting corporations such as the Great American Lamb company
2010 HSUS promotes fundraising event at which meat is served from the very animals the organization claims to be advocating for
2011 Bruce Friedrich leaves PETA to join the staff of Farm Sanctuary as Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives
2011 Whole Foods' Global Animal
Partnership announces 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Standards for the use
and killing of animals, and releases
promotional video
featuring Miyun Park as a spokesperson. At the time of the
announcement, HSUS, PETA, Compassion in World Farming and the World
Society for the Protection of Animals are represented on the GAP board.
2011 HSUS appoints pig farmer Joe Maxwell to staff position of "Director of Rural Development and Outreach", with goal of expanding market for "humane" meat
2011 Whole Foods CEO John Mackey
featured as speaker at Farm Sanctuary conference on eliminating "factory farming"