The following statement regarding the Great Lakes Cheese recall due to metal fragment contamination may be attributed to Jennifer Behr, Director of Plant-Based Initiatives at Mercy For Animals:
The recent recall of over 1.5 million bags of shredded cheese by Great Lakes Cheese, affecting major private-label brands like Great Value, Good & Gather, and Food Club, highlights serious safety failures in the dairy supply chain. Just days earlier, Prairie Farms recalled fat-free milk due to chemical contamination, underscoring that these risks are widespread and recurring.
These unsafe products are symptoms of an industrial system where cows are crowded into filthy barns, routinely separated from their calves, and treated as production units rather than sentient beings. Our investigation of a New York dairy farm supplying major brands revealed cows beaten, left with untreated injuries, and living in manure-soaked pens, creating conditions that breed disease and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Industrial dairy also drives pollution, accelerates climate change, and threatens public health, as seen in the ongoing spread of bird flu across U.S. herds. Plant-based alternatives offer a safer, cleaner, and more sustainable choice, protecting animals, people, and the planet.
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