Victory for Lobsters and Crabs!

PETA is part of a coalition of animal protection organizations working with Whole Foods Market—the country’s largest natural foods grocery chain, with more than 180 stores in 30 states—to improve the living and dying conditions of the animals it sells. As part of these efforts, Whole Foods announced on June 15, 2006, that it has banned the sale of live lobsters and soft-shell crabs from its stores because of concern for the animals’ welfare.

In announcing Whole Foods’ decision, CEO John Mackey said, “We place as much emphasis on the importance of humane treatment and quality of life for all animals as we do on the expectations for quality and flavor.”

Lobsters in grocery-store tanks are piled on top of each other and forced to live amid their own waste. They are given no food and are often left to languish for days or weeks; many die before being sold. Store managers are almost always untrained in lobster welfare and often leave the animals to suffer in filthy water with incorrect salinity and temperature levels. Those who survive will be dumped into a pot of boiling water, where they will struggle desperately, trying to escape an agonizing death. For more information on lobsters and what you can do to help them, visit LobsterLib.com.

Whole Foods is quickly establishing itself as an industry leader in animal welfare. The chain has banned the sale of foie gras from its stores and has stopped selling eggs from hens cruelly confined to battery cages. Whole Foods is also a leader in sales of vegan foods, offering a wide selection of delicious products.

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