Jabe!  Jabe’s response mentioned the entire sign as an oxymoron so she was selected as the winner.

Congratulations Jabe!  Please email me an address to send you some vegan goodies for your prize.  veganadmin (at) yourdailyvegan (dot) com

I want to say that everyone’s answer was spot on and you are all winners in my book.  I don’t actually have a Whole Foods where I live.  I drive an hour away to shop there about once a month, of course I may not any more.  I saw the sign on Sunday and was simply floored.  And, apparently, I am not alone.

This story first broke in 2004/2005 when the foundation began.  Friends of Animals did an excellent article about it, which you can read here.  I am surprised that there are animal activist groups out there who support, or even assist, with the planned killing of animals.  This has always been something that has bothered me.  There is a need to treat our animals more humanely, true.  But to say that the animal deserves humane treatment and then to turn around and slaughter them is just absurd.

And, of course, some people think this foundation is a great idea.  Just read this guy’s blog.  Or, you can join the other 86 “fans” of the foundation on their Facebook page.

One animal activist group, PETA, offered the Animal Compassion Foundation a 2004 Proggy Award for “Best Animal Friendly Retailer”.  According to PETA’s website:

“John Mackey, the chair, CEO, and co-founder of Whole Foods Market, observed, “By creating the Foundation, Whole Foods Market is pioneering an entirely new way for people to relate to farm animals—with the animals’ welfare becoming the most important goal.”

The animals’ welfare is the most important goal?  Are you kidding me?  If that is the case, shouldn’t we STOP KILLING them?  Can someone explain this to me?  Let me ask this question:  Would you care, would it matter to you, if we treated you well if we were just going to kill you anyway?  These animals sense that they are going to die so they live their “lives” at the slaughterhouses in fear.  Babies are routinely taken from their mothers causing further emotional distress.  Tell me again how we are going to be humane?

“The astronomical number of animals being raised and killed for food makes it essentially impossible to treat the animals in any fashion that the average person would consider humane. Nevertheless, you should also reflect on whether you would consider it accpetable to be eaten even if someone promised to treat you better before killing you.” – Nedim C. Buyukmihci, V.M.D., when asked the question “I don’t want to give up meat. Couldn’t we just treat the animals better?”