USDA Confirms Animal Abuse & Cruelty at Alexandre Family Farm

In a separate development, one of the two current lawsuits against Alexandre cleared its first legal hurdle on Friday when a Humboldt County Superior Court judge ruled to allow a cruelty lawsuit to proceed against Alexandre.

Consumers who purchase milk from companies like Alexandre (and Whole Foods,) thinking they are supporting good animal welfare, are being deceived while animals continue to suffer.
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While Alexandre now appears to be the subject of increased monitoring, this case highlights the systematic failure of certification programs to ensure compliance with organic and animal welfare standards. Although Alexandre has been exposed for its egregious practices, this is not a case of one bad actor. For example, as part of the investigation, Alexandre supplied the NOP with the past results of the company’s certification inspections. During the period in question, Alexandre passed inspections by multiple certification programs, including the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Certified Humane, the National Dairy FARM Program, Organic Trust Plus, and Validus.24 None of these programs identified animal welfare concerns that rose to the level of an inspection failure or noncompliance finding, allowing Alexandre to continue its mistreatment of cows, unchecked. Read more from Farm Forward here.