Organic Valley Milk Cows Separated from Calves Prematurely, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges Organic Valley’s milk is not manufactured as humanely as advertised given the company apparently sources its dairy products from cows whose calves are stripped from them within days or hours after birth. 

The 33-page complaint, filed in part by attorneys from the PETA Foundation, says consumers are unaware that the Organic Valley dairy products they buy are made “through needless cruelty to animals.” 

According to the case, the calves, after being taken from their mothers, are reared in isolation hutches, often in poor health and without vital socialization and natural sustenance. Male calves, the suit alleges, are quickly sold for commercial slaughter, while female calves go on to birth calves who are immediately taken away from them, the filing says. 

“These practices are not ‘humane’ and do not comport with established ‘highest standards’ of animal care ‘above and beyond other standards’—including provision of ‘social’ settings—that Defendant touts on its labels, but instead renders them false and misleading to reasonable consumers such as Plaintiff,” the filing alleges.

Moreover, the suit claims that the foregoing is “especially true” given, for instance, that Organic Valley dairy products feature a mother cow and calf together in an open field, “in direct contrast to Defendant’s actual practices.”

The lawsuit stresses that Organic Valley’s representations are important to consumers in search of humane alternatives to conventionally produced dairy products. These consumers, the case says, are willing to pay more for milk from production systems that do not involve the premature separation of cows and calves. 

“Defendant’s label statements, targeted to consumers who care about the humane treatment of animals, deceive consumers about the true nature of its business practices and cause Plaintiff and other consumers to pay premium prices,” the filing alleges.  

Under the highest standards of animal care, a mother cow would be allowed to remain with her calf until weaning occurs naturally, or for at least 168 days, the suit relays. Organic Valley “does not meet these standards—and so inflicts undue suffering,” the lawsuit alleges. 

Per the complaint, social rearing and experiences, particularly early in life, are a necessary and crucial part of normal psychological development in cows, just as they are in humans. Cows are social herd animals who crave companionship, the suit says, and cows and calves alike suffer when these needs go unmet.

According to the suit, premature separation of mother cows from their calves is a “particular cruelty of the dairy industry.” For many other categories of farmed animals, including sheep, pigs, horses, and cows used for beef, mothers are frequently housed with their offspring for some meaningful period of time.  

“Cows used in dairy production are an exception, one that reasonable consumers are unaware of due to deceptive packaging like Defendant’s,” the case says.

Per the lawsuit, mother cows who are separated early from their calves display increased eye whites, which can indicate fear, stress or frustration, and other behavioral signs of trauma. Mother cows may also begin to pace, urinate more frequently, lose weight or engage in searching or vocalization, all of which may be signs of acute distress, the case relays.

Further, calves raised without their mothers are “more inclined to respond fearfully to unknown objects or to confrontations with unknown cows,” the suit says. 

Ultimately, the complaint contends that there is “no sufficient welfare or commercial justification” for Organic Valley’s premature separation of mother cows and calves, and many commercial alternatives exist. 

The lawsuit looks to represent all persons in California who bought Organic Valley dairy products that defendant Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools (Organic Valley) represented were made with a “commitment to the highest ... animal care practices,” “humane” practices, “high” or “highest” standards of animal care that “go above and beyond other standards,” or cows that are “social.” 

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