A roundup of crime stories from throughout the Region during the past 24 hours. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. This video and any future videos will be immediately handed over to the authorities for review and potential prosecution. There is also footage of calves left in. When animals fall within our authorities, USDA acts to prevent animal cruelty such as this. I am committed to never again have to watch a video of our animals suffering the way that they suffered," McCloskey said June 6, 2019, in a video posted to Fair Oaks Farms' Facebook page. The calves appeared to stay in filthy, overcrowded and hot conditions. Fair Oaks Farms is the flagship farm for Fairlife, a national brand of higher protein, higher calcium and lower fat milk that's produced at a network of dairy farms and distributed by Coca-Cola. While some stores stopped carrying Fairlife after the 2019 video, it does not appear to be weighing down the dairy brand today. "We have staff in the farm sites regularly," she said. So far, there is no evidence that this kind of accusation creates long-term harm for the brands involved. One of my friends on Facebook shared it. An undercover video provided by Animal Recovery Mission shows workers allegedly abusing animals at Fair Oaks Farms in Newton County. A 64-ounce jug of Market Pantry (Target's brand) milk is $2.39. The controversy led to businesses dropping Fairlife products, including Stack & Van Til, Jewel-Osco and Tonys Fresh Market. The minimizing of the graphic animal cruelty offers little assurance of change in a culture that is likely in need of fundamental retooling.". In response to the video, local grocery store chain Jewel-Osco said it was removing all Fairlife products that come from Fair Oaks Farms from its stores. On June 12, 2019, ARM released a cut of the investigators footage documenting cruelty on the dairy farm, which was taken with a hidden body camera. A full investigation of all aspects of the video is underway, during and after which disciplinary action will be taken, including termination and criminal prosecution, of any and all employees and managers who have violated either our animal care practices or the law or both. The product delivery arm of Fair Oaks Farms, Fresh Delivery, is suspending service for a week "to stand with the farm and for the safety of th, FAIR OAKS The Newton County Sheriff's Office has identified three of the men accused of abusing young calves at Fair Oaks Farms, according t, Police are looking for a suspicious man who reportedly approached children at Griffith's Central Park Monday, calling one to come to him and a, FAIR OAKS One of the men accused of abusing animals at Fair Oaks Farms was arrested Wednesday, while the other two are still being sought by. The suit alleges that this led many consumers to believe they were were paying a premium for that standard of care. People are starting to do their own homework on this. I am and will continue to be deeply involved in the resolution of this matter, down to every one of our employees, so that I can guarantee that these actions never again occur on any of our farms. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. In the initial statement issued Tuesday on social media, Fair Oaks founder Mike McCloskey said four of the people shown committing alleged abuses were Fair Oaks Farms employees and each had been or were being fired. "With recent events involving Fair Oaks Farms, Strack & Van Til will be removing all Fair Oaks and related products until further notice," he said. So, in this instance our policy of cow care training "see something, say something" worked. One exception is Chobani, which last week said it was ending the production of its Chobani Ultra-Filtered Milk,which launched in February. FAIR OAKS The Newton County prosecutor says a witness has corroborated allegations from a suspect that an animal welfare investigator encour, Ford is expanding its workforce again at the Chicago Assembly Plant on the banks of the Calumet River, just across the state line in Hegewisch. The fourth was fired Tuesday, according to Fair Oaks Farms. On Tuesday, the sheriff's office disclosed the suspects' names. Sour Milk. NEWTON COUNTY One of the three men accused of abusing animals at Fair Oaks Farms is in federal immigration custody, according to police. They are both owned by Mike McCloskey. It was evident to the investigator that it was the normal way to do business at the farm, the document read. And, when cows died of sickness, their dead bodies were dumped outside out of the view of those attending Fair Oaks Dairy Adventure tours; and once cows could no longer produce milk, they were sent to slaughter for meat or dog food. Fairlife's website states that after ARM exposed Fairlife's cruelty, the dairy company stopped buying milk from Fair Oaks, and established "a robust welfare program" with their other farms, which Fairlife has put over $8 million into. Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife and son, Biden had cancerous skin lesion removed last month, doctor says, White supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes kicked out of CPAC, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Biden team readies new advisory panel ahead of expected reelection bid, At least 10 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, House Democrats unhappy with White House handling of D.C.'s new criminal code. It's located in Fair Oaks, Ind., just off I-65, about 109 miles north of Indianapolis and. Several companies bought big into the once-promising segment, but the governmentsdecision not to permit the ingredient in food and beverages has left producers unwilling to invest further. https://t.co/iAybFVJeFg via @Change. Since the video's widespread release showing young calves being abused by Fair Oaks Farms employees, Strack & Van Til, Jewel-Osco and Family Express announced they are pulling Fairlife products from its shelves. After all, it's their product and their livelihood at risk since most calves sell for between $500 - $1,000. In addition to the state's laws, the board refers to FARM when it comes to industry standards for handling and care. Fair Oaks, a sprawling dairy farm, was launched in 2004 by Mike and Sue McCloskey, who are also co-founders of Select Milk. In response, multiple stores stopped carrying Fairlife products, and numerous consumers boycotted the brand. While we were made aware a couple months ago of the fact that ARM had gone undercover at Fair Oaks Farms, and had proactively made a statement, we had no idea what kind of footage had been captured or what if any abuse had occurred. Ex-Fair Oaks Farms worker gets probation for abusing calves A man accused of abusing calves on the large northwestern Indiana farm has been sentenced to a year of probation after a felony. Consumer fraud lawsuits were filed across the country against Fairlife and later consolidated in Chicago federal court. "We've been trying to figure out where this regeneration of the videos has come from. Fair Oaks Farms representatives said Saturday no other incidents have happened since the videos were released in 2019. We anticipate cooperation from both parties in this matter during this investigation.". Northwest Indiana companies and construction professionals can learn about the latest developments with gas hazards and gas detection technolo, A former social worker turned entrepreneur developed a vegan, plant-based icing that will be available at Strack & Van Til supermarkets in, The Coca-Cola Company and Fair Oaks owners Mike and Sue McCloskey are named as co-defendants in the suits, which are being consolidated into a. "In 2019, when our farmers reported this behavior, we immediately terminated and turned these individuals into the proper authorities to prosecute," the company said in the statement. In the video, calves are stomped in the head, kicked, dragged by the tail and ears, hit in the face with plastic milk bottles, thrown out of the back of trucks and into pens, and generally brutalized. As they considered what may or may not impact their ability to . Fair Oaks Farms releases emotional response over abuse video. Police also are seeking the name of an individual who may have witnessedthe alleged crimes and failed to report the activity, the sheriff's department said Wednesday. Then I searched for news on this and was surprised it was from 2019. However, as I have stated before, the fact that ARM takes months before notifying owners or authorities regarding on-going animal abuse is concerning. While the videos and ensuing lawsuits cast negative attention on the Fairlife brand, it has done little to slow its momentum. #DitchDairy #ChooseCompassion @WorldAnimalNews @Peace_4_Animals pic.twitter.com/NVtZVb4Jfb. Still, a 2021 report from the World Animal Protection and Compassion in World Farming found many food companies are not doing enough to prioritize animal welfare. Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift. Coworkers caught. "I think people are starting to understand that and diving into the dairy issue for their own physical health, animal abuse and environmental impact. IE 11 is not supported. Approximately 98% of the country's milk supply is represented through the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM), a program that sets animal care standards for participating farms. McCloskey, a retired veterinarian, and his wife Sue often used the word symbiotic to describe their relationship to their cows (which they referred to as their girls). -- Police are investigating allegations of animal abuse at an Indiana dairy farm, the Newton County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday. Criminal charges were filed against at least three of the workers. "I guarantee you that this will never happen again at Fair Oaks Farms.". Calves were stabbed and beaten with steel rebars, hit in the mouth and face with hard plastic milking bottles, kneed in the spine, burned in the face with hot branding irons, subjected to extreme temperatures, provided with improper nutrition, and denied medical attention.". FAIR OAKS, Ind. "We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience.". In November 2019, The Times reported that at least eight federal lawsuits had been filed against Fairlifefrom across the country, including California, Florida and Indiana. May 27 2021, Published 1:51 p.m. Video taken and posted by an animal rights group shows, among other things, dairy calves being body slammed and hit with various objects, including steel rods and branding irons. Cathy Siegner A factor in our decision was the public response by Fair Oaks, asserting the notion that this was an isolated incident," the company said in a release. One person seen in the Animal Recovery Mission video was a third-party truck driver who was transporting calves, he said. Fair Oaks Farms is the largest dairy farm in Indiana with 37,000 cows, TODAY reported. Valparaiso-based Family Express, which operates convenience stores across the state, will replace Fairlife products with milk products from Organic Valley, which has 143 family farms in Indiana. In addition, Fairlife said they are immediately suspending milk deliveries from the dairy identified in the video. Olivia is the morning cops/breaking news reporter at The Times. An undercover video provided by Animal Recovery Mission shows workers allegedly abusing animals at Fair Oaks Farms in Newton County. FAIR OAKS The Newton County Sheriff's Department has requested the names of former Fair Oaks Farms employees shown abusing young calves in a video released by an animal rights. Strack's CEO, Jeff Strack, said the Highland-based company would no longer carry Fairlife products like Core Power protein shakes at its 20 supermarkets in Northwest Indiana. The public on both sides of the controversial video was passionate about what it saw. To add insult to injury, the abuse is rampant even at Fairlifes 'flagship farm in Indiana' that customers are urged to visit on the products labels.". "For any case, we need to review each act individually to determine if it meets the states definition of cruelty or abuse," said Denise Derrer, Public Information Director at the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, who is helping with the investigation. "We will work with the Newton County prosecutors office to file charges for any criminal activity the independent investigation revealed. The plants featured in the video are an invasive perennial species that is rampant on farms all over the midwest. Critics of dairy operations, such as Mercy for Animals, PETA and The Humane Society of the U.S., maintain . Couto's Miami-based Animal Recovery Mission released video last week showing calves at Fair Oaks being thrown into their huts, hit and kicked in the head, dragged by the ears and burned with . Members worked as employees while wearing a hidden camera. I am disappointed for not being aware of this kind of awful treatment occurring and I take full responsibility for what has happened. At Target, a 52-ounce bottle of Fairlife milk sells for $3.39. After reviewing the video frame-by-frame, those three employees are responsible for the overwhelming majority of offenses seen in this video. The Idaho native and University of Idaho grad has been with The Times since 2019. Fairlife has since "discontinued the use of milk from Fair Oaks Farms" in its products. According to online federal court records, the next hearing will be a remote status hearing on July 15. As ARM noted, both Fair Oaks Farms and Fairlife have built their brands around animal welfare. The farm, which promotes itself as an agritourism destination for families and school groups, has documented steps it has taken to improve animal treatment since the video was released. Gardozo-Vasquez - one of three former Fair Oaks Farms workers charged in connection to scenes of abuse that set off national protests and boycotts of Indiana's largest dairy - had also been. In the wake of the scandal, Fairlife (the national brand formally supplied by Fair Oaks) issued apologies and began conducting internal animal welfare investigations at multiple farms. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). The U.S. Department of Agriculture regulates the treatment of animals under the authority of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and the Animal Welfare Act. Four employees were fired and a truck driver who worked for a third-party vendor was banned from the farm. Other premium brands, including A2, have been a hit with consumers. "The employees featured in the video exercised a complete and total disregard for the documented training that all employees go through to ensure the comfort, safety and well-being of our animals.". Farmers and ranchers . The controversy surrounding Fair Oaks Farms led to a flurry of social media comments, statements and responses as fallout from an undercover video showing animal cruelty at the popular Indiana . Conventionally raised cows may spend the majority of their lives in pens or inside barns in cramped quarters. We didn't spur it on but we are glad it happened. Please subscribe to keep reading. Fairlife has not sourced milk from Fair Oaks since the 2019 incident, the brand said. As explained by the Animal Legal & Historical Center, ag-gag laws were actually first instituted in response to undercover activists, and these laws are the governments way of protecting the meat, dairy, and egg industries (which makes sense, since the U.S. government gives tens of billions of dollars in subsidies to the animal agriculture industry every year). Soon after the footage came out, many consumers vowed to boycott Fairlife, and buy milk from otherdairy brands instead. FAIR OAKS Fair Oaks Farms founder Mike McCloskey says he was unaware calves were being sold to the veal industry, citing a lack of communica. Offers may be subject to change without notice. The truck driver, who was responsible for picking up the calves, will not be allowed on Fair Oaks Farms again. And while it sounds good that Fairlife is conducting third-party audits of its farms, Fairlife does not state what happens if its auditors observe abuse at a farm. No reports of animal abuse or neglect have been filed with the agency since the farms founding in the mid-1990s, Derrer said in an email. The statement that we grow and sell drugs on our farms is false.