PETA's letters to all of Safeway's subsidiary companies

December 14, 2001

Grant M. Hansen, CEO
Canada Safeway Ltd.
1020 64th Ave. N.E.
Calgary, Alberta T2E 7V8
Canada

7 pages via fax: 403-730-3888

Dear Mr. Hansen:

On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 750,000 members and supporters, I am writing to notify Canada Safeway Limited of PETA's intention to launch an aggressive campaign against Safeway. This campaign is a consequence of Safeway's failure to address some of the worst acts of animal abuse carried out by its suppliers.

As one of North America's largest grocery store chains, the responsibility to treat animals humanely falls squarely on Safeway's shoulders. Fourteen months ago, PETA contacted your parent company in Pleasanton, Calif., and asked it to adopt modest animal welfare guidelines instituted by McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. Since then, Safeway's lack of commitment to improving animals' lives has become painfully evident. The company refuses to take responsibility and simply defers all animal welfare questions to the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), an industry trade group that has not lifted a finger to reduce animal suffering on the farm or in the slaughterhouse.

You may be familiar with PETA's campaigns against the three largest fast-food companies—McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. All three companies were dragging their feet on animal welfare issues, as Safeway is doing now, compelling PETA to launch campaigns that involved nearly 2,000 demonstrations, hard-hitting Web sites (visit www.WickedWendy's.com for an example), billboards, leaflets, ads, and celebrity involvement, all of which was well covered by the media.

Since Canada Safeway Ltd. accounts for 11 percent of Safeway's total sales, your 214 Canadian stores will not be overlooked when we launch our campaign. As in the United States, animals in Canadian factory farms and slaughterhouses are treated abysmally—egg-laying hens are starved into producing more eggs, chickens are thrown onto the backs of transport trucks with such force that many of them suffer broken bones and hemorrhaging, and during slaughter cows are often skinned and dismembered while still alive. Both Burger King and Wendy's prohibit their Canadian restaurants from using suppliers that engage in this type of cruelty—certainly it would be possible for Canada Safeway to do the right thing and follow their lead.

I've enclosed an addendum to this letter, outlining the steps that we asked Safeway to take more than a year ago. PETA stands ready to offer our counsel, assistance, and experts in animal welfare and handling, as well as our resources to help Canada Safeway Ltd. improve the miserable living and dying conditions of animals supplied to its stores.

We look forward to communicating your reply to our members.

Sincerely,

Sean Gifford
Campaign Coordinator