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Humanewashing Exposed

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As animal advocates continue to raise awareness about the cruelty farmed animals face in farms and at slaughter, more people are looking for products they believe are humane — and they’ll pay more for them too. Unfortunately, producers are taking advantage of this with misleading advertising, otherwise known as humanewashing, that hides the horrifying reality of animal agribusiness with depictions of happy animals and phrases on product labels that don’t really mean anything and don’t meet consumer expectations.



What is Humanewashing?

Humanewashing uses false advertising and feel-good labels to try to convince the public that animals are treated well in farms and slaughterhouses. In reality, these labels hide the unimaginable suffering of animals used and killed for their flesh, milk, and eggs.

In the U.S., these labels on animal products are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Conscientious consumers who don’t want to harm animals or support animal cruelty are left to decipher an array of deceptive marketing claims and can end up buying products that don’t align with their values.


Common Misleading Humanewashing Terms & Phrases

The USDA relies on producer-supplied paperwork for these label claims, yet none are legally enforceable:

  • Free Range - chickens raised for meat “have access to the outdoors,” e.g. small door in an enclosed area, yet no specified size, quality, or amount of time is required
  • Cage-Free - thousands of animals still crammed into one warehouse
  • Grass-Fed or Pasture-Raised - open to interpretation
  • Organic - has nothing to do with the treatment of animals
  • Wild Caught - marine animals are still hooked and suffocated

Not defined or regulated by the USDA:

  • Humanely Raised
  • Small Farms
  • Local
  • Family Farm
  • High Welfare
  • Ethically Sourced
  • Restorative or Regenerative
  • Natural


Even third-party certifications and programs that claim to ensure humane treatment — such as Humane Certified, Animal Welfare Approved, American Humane, ASPCA Shop with Your Heart, Better Chicken Commitment, and Global Animal Partnership (G.A.P.) Animal Welfare Certified — lack consistent oversight, inspections are rare and pre-announced, and there is minimal enforcement or penalties.


Why “Humane” Animal Farming Isn’t Possible:

Multiple investigations into many farms that tout high welfare standards or use deceptive labels on their products have uncovered egregious abuse of animals, which in some cases have led to the enforcement of animal cruelty laws. Regardless of claims, or the size of the farm, farmed animals are subjected to a number of heartbreaking abuses that are considered standard industry practice.

Forced breeding involves masturbating the males to extract semen, then the females are forcibly impregnated. The separation of mothers and their babies is also fundamental in animal farming. In the dairy industry, mother cows will desperately try to protect their calves and try to chase after them. They often bellow for weeks in grief over their stolen babies. 



Animals also suffer extreme mutilations without pain relief. Procedures such as tail docking, castration, teeth and beak trimming, and the burning off of horns are all performed without anesthesia. Branding with hot irons is another common practice, regardless of the pain these animals endure.



The killing of male babies is a fundamental aspect of the dairy and egg industries. Male calves and male chicks are considered worthless because they can’t produce milk or lay eggs. As a result, these animals are killed shortly after birth — either on the farm, in hatcheries, or in slaughterhouses.

Extreme confinement is also standard, with many animals kept in spaces so small they can barely move. They are often unable to turn around, stretch their wings, or lie down comfortably, causing both physical and psychological suffering.



The capture and transport of animals are also brutal. In what’s known in the industry as “chicken catching,” birds are often thrown into cages for transport to slaughter, causing their fragile bones to break. Many farmed animals are prodded with painful electric rods to force them on and off trucks for slaughter. Animals also endure extreme heat and freezing cold during transport, up to weeks, without food or water. Many arrive dead from the harsh conditions.



“Stunning” Methods Fail to Prevent Suffering

Many animals are still conscious and terrified during slaughter. One method of “stunning” is carbon dioxide gas chambers, often referred to by the industry as “controlled atmosphere stunning” - commonly used on pigs and birds. Numerous investigations in Europe, Australia, and the U.S. have documented the extreme suffering this inflicts. The gas burns their mucous membranes, and as they suffocate, pigs in particular scream in agony, desperately fighting for their lives to escape. Some regain consciousness during slaughter. 

Another brutal method involves dumping poultry birds into electrified water. This practice, intended to stun the animals, often causes intense pain, frequently failing to render them unconscious before their throats are cut. 

The electric bolt gun, commonly used in slaughterhouses, is another method that often fails to effectively stun animals. Instead of rendering them unconscious, the bolt may cause only partial brain damage, leaving some animals fully conscious while being slaughtered.

In all these methods, the animals are left to suffer excruciating pain and fear during the final moments of their lives.



Killing Methods:

Baby male chicks in the egg industry are macerated, thrown alive into giant blenders, or suffocated in plastic bags. Male calves are either slaughtered or sometimes killed on the farm using blunt force trauma to their heads. “Piglet thumping” involves slamming their skulls against the ground.



Suffocation by heatstroke over hours, known as Ventilation Shutdown (VS+) -  kills thousands of animals at once. This was used in 2020 and in the current H5N1 bird flu epidemic. Death by gunshot and throat stabbing are also standard in animal farming.



Most farmed animals are slaughtered as infants, except dairy cows, who are typically slaughtered between 4 and 7 years old once their milk production declines, despite a natural lifespan of 25 years.

A Lack of Legal Protection is Hurting Farmed Animals

There are no federal laws governing the treatment of animals on farms, or that specifically address humanewashing. Only two federal laws relate to them, including the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, which regulates how certain animals can be killed for food, and the Twenty-Eight Hour Law, which sets standards for some animals being transported long distances. Sadly, these both exclude “poultry” —birds. The Animal Welfare Act also excludes farmed animals, unless they’re used in research.  

Unfortunately, while every state has animal cruelty laws, definitions vary between them, and they can exclude farmed animals and standard industry practices, despite the inherent cruelty. Animal cruelty is also not always a priority for prosecutors.

However, animal advocates have successfully sought animal cruelty charges in quite a few instances, and lawsuits over false advertising, like the one we joined against Sanderson Farms, have also had a positive impact.

Why We’re Better Off Without Animal Farming:

Living cruelty-free means no animal should be used or killed for unnecessary products. The leading dietetic and nutrition organizations worldwide have concluded that a well-planned, plant-based diet is healthy for all life stages and can help reduce the risk of major diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and various cancers. Animal products, on the other hand, can increase these risks.

By shifting away from animal farming, we can also help reverse the climate crisis by freeing up land, water, and resources, ultimately allowing the planet to rewild. The meat and dairy industries are primary drivers of deforestation, global warming, wildlife and habitat destruction, species extinction, ocean dead zones, excessive water usage, and pollution.

Ending the reliance on animal flesh, dairy, and eggs can also minimize the risk of future pandemics. Experts warn that animal agribusiness is a key cause of zoonotic diseases, which could fuel the next, likely worse, pandemic.

Living vegan can also help relieve world hunger. By eliminating the need for vast amounts of land to grow animal feed and grazing areas, we could free up 75% of farmland, enabling more food to be grown directly for human consumption.


What YOU Can Do:

  • Switch to a Plant-Based Diet: Get your free Vegan Starter Guide.
  • Adopt an Animal-Friendly Life: Veganism is not a diet, it’s an ethical principle that humans should live without exploiting other animals — for food, clothing, entertainment, testing/experiments, riding, breeding for companionship, or anything else. Rescue animals, don’t buy them.
  • Take Action: Speak up for animals and get involved with a community of animal advocates. Sign up for News.

Even if something is culturally accepted or legal, that does not make it morally right. No matter the size of the “farm,” or the promise on the label, there is no humane way to use or kill someone who doesn’t want to be used or killed. Each animal is someone, not something. 


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