Hello everyone,

This week, Mercy For Animals released White Striping at Whole Foods, a shopper-led investigative report exposing the company's continued reliance on birds bred for extreme and unnaturally fast growth. The exposé, featured on WholeFoodsChicken.com, addresses the disturbing truth behind white striping and the prevalence of signs of muscle abnormality in Whole Foods' chicken supply. 

The Investigation: In February 2025, Mercy For Animals called on people living near Whole Foods locations to survey chicken meat at their local stores for evidence of white striping disease. This disease is visible as white lines of fat across chicken meat that have replaced oxygen-deprived muscle tissue, commonly due to rapid growth. Meat products from ultrafast-growing birds often bear these scars. While not harmful to consumers, they are visible proof of the appalling cruelty the animals endure.

The Results: Participants investigated chicken meat at 88 Whole Foods locations in North America. The stores surveyed span 52 cities across 18 U.S. states and six cities in one Canadian province. Meat with clear signs of white striping was found at every location visited, a strong indication that Whole Foods continues to source Frankenchickens.

Next Steps: The findings are alarming and highlight the urgent need for Whole Foods to fulfill their promise to stop sourcing ultrafast-growing birds. With the report's release, we are escalating our public efforts to urge Whole Foods to publish a clear, incremental roadmap toward fulfilling their commitment to banning Frankenchickens and improving chicken welfare in their supply chain. One such effort is an open letter signed by 14 doctors and public health experts imploring Whole Foods to follow through on their pledge, pointing out the risks posed by failing to do so. The letter cites the results of this report.

We hope this report is beneficial to your organization. Feel free to reach out directly to me with any questions at nataliew@mercyforanimals.org. Thank you!

Sincerely,
Natalie Ackerman
Senior Campaigns Specialist
Mercy For Animals