Walmart-at-the-Crossroads-FINAL-06.04.15
Walmart-at-the-Crossroads-FINAL-06.04.15
Walmart-at-the-Crossroads-FINAL-06.04.15
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no authority under <strong>the</strong> federal w<strong>at</strong>er law to demand an evalu<strong>at</strong>ion of possible pollution.<br />
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This case,<br />
which has received a gre<strong>at</strong> deal of <strong>at</strong>tention from local environmental groups, is still ongoing.<br />
A Humane Society of United St<strong>at</strong>es (HSUS) investig<strong>at</strong>or fur<strong>the</strong>r discovered environmental<br />
viol<strong>at</strong>ions when he worked <strong>at</strong> three Rose Acre facilities in Winterset, Stuart, and Guthrie Center, Iowa<br />
for 15 days in 2010. Nearly four million laying hens and about one million young hens (pullets) were<br />
confined in <strong>the</strong>se factory farms. One worker <strong>at</strong> Rose Acre Farms claimed, “The manure pit under a<br />
pullet shed had not been cleaned in two years.”<br />
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O<strong>the</strong>r workers <strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> facility have noted th<strong>at</strong> some<br />
hens are blinded because of high ammonia levels.<br />
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This case illustr<strong>at</strong>es <strong>the</strong> unsanitary and inhumane<br />
conditions both workers and animals are subject to in Rose Acre’s egg facilities due to less than<br />
adequ<strong>at</strong>e regul<strong>at</strong>ion of production processes.<br />
C. Supplier 3: Moark, LLC<br />
In 1957, Hollis Osborne cre<strong>at</strong>ed Moark Productions, which became Moark, LLC after merging<br />
with Land O’Lakes in 2000. Since its beginning, Moark has focused on acquiring a variety of<br />
companies.<br />
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For example, in January 2013, Moark purchased <strong>the</strong> rights to an existing Eggland’s Best<br />
franchise for a cash payment of $2.0 million <strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> close of sale.<br />
228<br />
Moark, LLC also markets eggs using<br />
popular brands, such as Land O’Lakes, Eggland’s Best, and a number of local and premium labels.<br />
This company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Land O’Lakes, Inc. in 2006.<br />
229<br />
i. Labor<br />
penalties.<br />
230<br />
From 2010 to 2014, Moark was cited for 21 OSHA viol<strong>at</strong>ions and fined almost $66,000 in initial<br />
ii. Environment<br />
In November 2005, Moark was involved in an environmental dispute. The Kansas City Star<br />
reported th<strong>at</strong> Moark, LLC had been oper<strong>at</strong>ing for years without a st<strong>at</strong>e-issued permit. The company<br />
repe<strong>at</strong>edly viol<strong>at</strong>ed pollution laws, angering many residents in <strong>the</strong> region. Neighbors near Moark’s<br />
facilities claimed th<strong>at</strong> chicken manure had turned pristine streams and lakes cloudy. All three of <strong>the</strong><br />
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