|
|
As the CEO of an activist organization working to end factory farming, Mercy For Animals, I’ve been worried since March’s $660 million damages verdict in a frivolous lawsuit against Greenpeace, a leading environmental organization. I feared that verdict — which many believe could halt an organization that has inspired countless activists like me — would embolden corporations to test new boundaries against civil society and the activists speaking out against corporate greed and injustice.
This fear came to life for Mercy For Animals via a complaint from Marriott, one of the world’s largest hotel chains.
In 2018, after international campaigns highlighted Marriott’s use of cruel cage eggs despite the company’s claims of concern for animals, Marriott committed to eliminating cage eggs in its supply chain by the end of 2025. The company received positive press, campaigns were called off and improved welfare for millions of hens seemed assured.
Yet with fewer than 300 days until its self-imposed deadline, Marriott has reported only 42% progress toward its global cage-free goal. The stark reality has become clear: After more than seven years, Marriott has harvested the positive PR while showing little intention of fulfilling its commitment.
At Mercy For Animals, we work to create a more compassionate food system by ending cruel practices like confining laying hens in cages so small they cannot take more than a couple of steps or flap their wings. Their frustration often leads to cannibalism. This is a moral atrocity that future generations will find incomprehensible.
After creating websites exposing Marriott’s backtracking, we received notice from our web host that Marriott had accused Mercy For Animals of trademark infringement while also claiming we were “making false allegations” and “intentionally trying to damage [its] reputation.” In fact, Marriott demanded the removal of our campaign sites.
Marriott’s allegations are false. Exposing a company for misleading consumers and perpetuating animal cruelty isn’t trademark infringement — it’s the truth.
We chose not to remove the sites, and we will not stop our exposure of Marriott or other companies now testing whether they too can renege on cage-free commitments without consequence.
This represents a dangerous new era for advocacy. In recent months, we’ve observed multiple corporations deploying similar intimidation tactics against various civil-society organizations. These legal threats — often baseless but always resource-draining — appear coordinated in their timing and approach, suggesting companies are emboldened to silence critics.
The message is clear: Powerful corporations believe the Greenpeace case has weakened the activist ecosystem enough that they can now bulldoze commitments made to consumers and stakeholders while threatening those who hold them accountable.
This moment demands solidarity and courage from advocacy organizations, journalists and concerned citizens. If corporations succeed in using legal intimidation to escape commitments to ending the worst industry practices, we face a future where corporate pledges become meaningless marketing exercises rather than binding ethical contracts with society.
We must recognize these actions not as isolated incidents but as strategic attempts to fundamentally alter the balance between corporate power and civil oversight. After decades of progress on corporate social responsibility, we stand at a critical inflection point.
Mercy For Animals will not be silenced by baseless bullying. The fundamental right to factually expose corporate deception must be defended — not just for animals suffering in cages but for the very foundations of accountability in our society.
Leah Garcés, CEO and president of Mercy For Animals, is a prominent advocate for animal rights and sustainable food systems with over 25 years of leadership experience, having founded The Transfarmation Project® and launched Compassion in World Farming in the U.S. As an author and a global speaker featured at forums like TED and the World Health Organization and recognized in Vox’s Future Perfect 50 list, she has worked extensively with corporations, communities and governments to transform the food system while balancing her work with family life in Decatur, Georgia.