Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Hormel
Public Justice, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and the Richman Law Group filed a joint lawsuit in the District of Columbia Superior Court against Hormel Foods, alleging the company is misleading consumers through the advertising of its Natural Choice® brand of lunch meats and bacon. Contrary to Hormel’s branding campaign, the suit alleges, meats the company advertises as “natural” actually comes from animals raised in the worst factory farms that employ additives, hormones and antibiotics, and contain ingredients that constitute artificial preservatives.
With the slogan “Make the Natural Choice®” and repeated claims that its Natural Choice® products are “100% Natural” and “All-Natural,” Hormel Foods has run a wide-ranging advertising campaign that takes advantage of consumers’ beliefs that “natural” meat comes from animals raised in a specific, sustainable way. According to a 2015 Consumer Reports survey, half of consumers believe the “natural” designation means animals were raised outdoors. Hormel’s Natural Choice® products, in contrast, are not from more humane or more natural farms, but come from the same industrialized factory farms as any of Hormel’s other products.
Resource Materials
- Hormel Complaint (BriefComplaint)
- Plaintiff's Opposition to Hormel's Motion to Dismiss (BriefMisc. MotionsMotion to Dismiss)
- Order Denying Hormel's Motion to Dismiss (Court OrderMotion to Dismiss)
- Supplemental Authority in Support of Opposition to Hormel's Motion to Dismiss (BriefMotion to Dismiss)
- Plaintiff's Opposed Motion to Compel Discovery in Hormel (BriefDiscoveryMisc. Motions)
- Order Granting Motion to Compel Discovery in Hormel (Court OrderDiscovery)
- Redacted - Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment in Hormel (BriefMotion for Summary Judgment)
- Redacted - Statement of Fact in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment in Hormel ()
- Redacted - Motion for Spoilation Sanctions in Hormel (BriefMisc. Motions)
- Redacted - Plaintiff's Opposition to Hormel's Opposed MSJ (BriefMisc. MotionsMotion for Summary Judgment)
- Redacted - Plaintiff's Reply in Support of its Motion for Spoilation Sanctions in Hormel (BriefMisc. Motions)
- Plaintiff's Reply in Support of its MSJ in Hormel (BriefMotion for Summary Judgment)
- Reply Brief for Appellant (Hormel case) (Brief)
- Hormel Decision (Court Order)