Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
By MARYN MCKENNA Back in December I wrote about a chicken farmer who took the extraordinary step of inviting animal-welfare activists into his barns to document the conditions under which his contract compels him to raise his birds. The farmer, Craig Watts of North Carolina, has raised chicken for Perdue Farms for two decades and […]
(Washington, DC) – Today, the Food Integrity Campaign (FIC, a program of the Government Accountability Project) filed a whistleblower retaliation complaint on behalf of its client, Perdue contract farmer Craig Watts. Mr. Watts alleges that the poultry company initiated intimidation tactics against Watts after he publicized animal welfare concerns. This is an historic event, the […]
by WYATT WILLIAMS On a cold December morning, Craig Watts met me in the driveway of the farmhouse that his great-grandfather had built in North Carolina more than a century ago. His family has been working on this land for much longer, perhaps hundreds of years, but as Watts led me into his house, it […]
By LEAH GARCES Last month, something unprecedented happened that rocked the chicken industry’s world. Perdue contract farmer Craig Watts decided he’d had enough. Together with my organization, Compassion in World Farming, he released a video that gave the public a unique view into the secretive world of the chicken industry. He revealed what the National Chicken Council […]
Without brave whistleblowers exposing the truth at factory farms and other stops along the food supply, the public would be completely in the dark about the food they eat. Yet Big Ag and the politicians they lobby are still making desperate attempts to silence truth-tellers. Unsurprisingly, anti-whistleblower Ag Gag bills are back again in several […]
The Food Integrity Campaign announced Friday that we are representing contract poultry farmer Craig Watts, who bravely publicized concerns last week that behemoth chicken producer Perdue is being misleading about its animal welfare labels. We know consumers care about these issues, and with your help spreading Craig’s message through social media, you can demand accountability […]
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) announced that it will represent Perdue contract farmer Craig Watts. Watts recently publicized allegations involving questionable labeling practices and the mistreatment of chickens. Watts is risking his livelihood to make these important disclosures. GAP, through the Food Integrity Campaign, works to protect and empower honest food […]
Good news emerged last week regarding Idaho’s anti-whistleblower Ag Gag law. U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill is allowing most of the challenges against the law to move forward. FIC submitted an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit seeking to overturn the Ag Gag law, which aims to silence agriculture industry whistleblowers. We’re […]
Have you taken some time to commend a truth-teller lately? To celebrate National Whistleblower Appreciation Day, our colleagues at the Government Accountability Project, whistleblowers, and other advocates gathered in Washington DC yesterday to honor whistleblowers’ brave contributions to society at the 2014 Whistleblower Summit. As their protections have improved over the past few years, whistleblowers […]
Empowering whistleblowers who are on the front lines of the food supply is the best way to keep the system transparent and wrongdoers accountable. But until a culture is created in which blowing the whistle is expected and rewarded, the dire situation of secrecy and repeat violations without accountability that currently exists will only continue. […]