GAP Represents Chicken Farmer Who Speaks Out against Perdue Practices

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) announced that it will represent Perdue contract farmer Craig Watts. Watts recently publicized allegations involving questionable labeling practices and the mistreatment of chickens.

Watts is risking his livelihood to make these important disclosures. GAP, through the Food Integrity Campaign, works to protect and empower honest food workers like Watts who reveal the truth about threats to food safety, animal welfare, worker rights, environmental health, and transparency.

The owner of C&A Farms in Fairmont, North Carolina, Watts has been raising chickens for Perdue since 1992. He became appalled that Perdue relied on labels such as “cage free” and “humanely raised.” Watts invited animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming to witness the truth and to document the conditions at his farm, released in a video this week.

Amanda Hitt, Director of GAP’s Food Integrity Campaign, stated:

“This is about the public’s right to know and whistleblowers’ right to tell. The reality is that consumers simply could not stand the sight of what happens on industrial farms. It takes brave truth-tellers like Craig Watts to let the public know what’s really going on behind the closed barn doors. He’s risked a lot coming forward, and GAP’s Food Integrity Campaign is committed to standing by him if Perdue retaliates.”

The Food Integrity Campaign uses a multi-faceted approach when representing whistleblower clients, including: 1) offering free and reduced cost legal services; 2) advocating for stronger whistleblower protection legislation; 3) giving whistleblowers a platform to share their concerns with the public through the media and other communications; and 4) providing educational resources to inspire greater citizen involvement in securing food integrity.

Contact: Sarah Damian, Communications Manager

Phone: 202.457.0034, ext. 130

Email: sarahd@whistleblower.org

Contact: Amanda Hitt, Food Integrity Campaign Director

Phone: 202.457.0034, ext. 159

Email: amandah@whistleblower.org

Government Accountability Project

The Government Accountability Project is the nation’s leading whistleblower protection organization. Through litigating whistleblower cases, publicizing concerns and developing legal reforms, GAP’s mission is to protect the public interest by promoting government and corporate accountability. Founded in 1977, GAP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.

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