By Eliza PARTIKA

Activists from animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) gathered on Saturday, Oct. 25 in front of the Trader Joe’s at 2462 Honolulu Ave. calling on the grocery chain to cut ties with Perdue Farms’ California subsidiary, Petaluma Poultry, claiming animal cruelty. The group has traveled to Trader Joe’s stores across the country sharing its demands.

The demonstration comes two months after a California judge partially deniedTrader Joe’s request for a temporary restraining order against DxE. Trader Joe’s had sought to prohibit protests at all 205 of its California locations. In an August ruling, Judge Keith Fong declined to restrict outdoor demonstrations and criticized Trader Joe’s for refusing to engage with activists. 

Demonstrators stepped up their desire to hold Trader Joe’s accountable for their relationship with Petaluma Poultry, said activist and DxE organizer Katelyn Dietz, in anticipation of DxE investigator Zoe Rosenberg’s trial in Santa Rosa. Rosenberg faces one felony and three misdemeanor charges and up to five years in prison for trespassing on Petaluma Poultry property and rescuing four chickens from their plant in June 2023. A verdict is expected soon.  

“We’re trying to teach people about animal exploitation. We’re trying to convince them to maybe change their purchases when they walk into stores like Trader Joe’s so that they walk out trying some of their amazing vegan products instead. We don’t hate Trader Joe’s –  a lot of us buy from them pretty frequently. We just want to see [Trader Joe’s] buy from suppliers that don’t have criminal negligence of their animals,” Dietz said. 

Dietz added their investigator teams have tried meeting with Trader Joe’s on several occasions and have sent multiple emails, but that the company “refuses to sit down with us.” 

Trader Joe’s requires activists maintain a certain distance from the store during their protests, which the group respected, gathering outside the store to chant and beat drums, holding signs depicting Trader Joe’s CEO Bryan Palbaum along with the message “I sell animal cruelty.” Others held signs with pictures taken by DxE members who broke into Petaluma Poultry to investigate the alleged cruelty and to rescue birds from conditions activists described as “living in their own filth.” 

An activist dressed in a chicken costume danced in front of the protesters, showing off signs decrying the treatment of Perdue’s chickens in “electric baths,” “boiled alive” and “sick and injured.” Other activists showed video footage of birds on a processing line. Placards read “Drop Petaluma Poultry” and provided the link to “PerdueAbuse.com” where DxE has documented the animal abuse they say they have seen on multiple occasions. 

Several community members stopped to discuss their presence at the store and learn more about the group’s findings. 

Activist Alyson Burton joined DxE six years ago after an action in front of Trader Joe’s headquarters where she offered to adopt a chicken rescued from a slaughter truck. Burton named the chicken Hope after she helped her recover from severe illness, obesity and necrotic wounds sustained at the slaughterhouse. 

“We’re here for the chickens. They need to be spoken up for. They’re just as sweet as your cat and dog,” Burton said. 

DxE has documentedevidence of sick and injured birds left without access to food or water at Petaluma Poultry as well as birds effectively being boiled alive during slaughter. The group argues these conditions violate California Penal Code section 597, which prohibits inflicting unnecessary suffering on animals.

In a press release, the activists claimed public health experts have also raised concerns. In a 2022 article, the Press Democrat found that USDA reports show the Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse has four times the national average rate of campylobacter and four times California’s rate of salmonella – pathogens that can cause severe human illness.

According to Dietz, Trader Joe’s labels of “free range” and “organic” mean that the chickens in slaughterhouses are kept so overcrowded that they can’t really move and only have the size of a sheet of paper to stand on. There are no pens or battery cages, there’s just too many of them to be able to walk freely. (Corrected by organizers.) 

“While they might not be in cages, they certainly don’t get to go outside. They certainly don’t get to see the sunlight like we might imagine. So we try to tell people this is not a healthy way to keep these animals. They’re spreading disease,” she said. 

The primary animal cruelty complaint made by DxE against Petaluma Poultry, formerly Petaluma Farms in California, was in 2018. In April 2025, Petaluma Poultry published a press release stating it is protecting the privacy of a worker after DxE investigators allegedly harassed him/her at his/her private residence. 

Saturday’s protest remained non-confrontational and non-violent with some of the activists conversing with passersby. 

Dietz said community members can help by eating plant-based, vegan diets, and learning more about sustainable food sources. 

“You can’t unhear what you learn about how these animals are treated,” she said. “There are plants out there that can give the same nutrients and flavors as meat. I can show up, teach people and raise my voice for these animals.”