False Advertising, Animals, and Ethical Consumption
![handle is hein.journals/anim10 and id is 33 raw text is: FALSE ADVERTISING, ANIMALS, AND
ETHICAL CONSUMPTION
By
Carter Dillard*
In light of the fact that today's consumers often want their products to be
created in the most environmentally-, globally-, and animal-friendly ways
possible, unethical sellers sometimes succumb to the incentive to persuade
consumers that goods were created more ethically than they actually were.
False advertising law represents a rare, albeit roundabout, legal opening for
animal advocates to deal with issues of animal mistreatment, regardless of
legislative and executive branch disregard of the importance of animal pro-
tection. Whether there is a beneficial change in the law or not, current oppor-
tunities in the market for these cases should be sought out and exploited, if
only to protect the ground animal advocates have gained in the battle for
consumer opinion. This article investigates the ways that consumers can
protect themselves from false advertising through the use of federal and
state agencies, independent review, federal and state courts, and private at-
torneys general actions.
I. INTRODUCTION ......................................... 26
II. FORUMS AND BASIC PROCEDURE ...................... 28
A. Federal Agencies ...................................... 28
B. Independent Review ................................... 33
C. State Agencies ......................................... 34
D. Federal Court ......................................... 37
E. State Courts .......................................... 39
F. Private Attorney General Actions ....................... 42
III. SUBSTANCE ............................................ 45
IV . EVIDEN CE .............................................. 52
A. The Ads and Their Background ........................ 53
B. Actual Animal Conditions .............................. 54
C. Surveys ............................................... 54
D. Consumer Affidavits ................................... 56
E. Public Opinion Polls ................................... 57
F. Extrinsic Evidence Regarding Objective Claims .......... 57
V. WHERE THE LAW FAILS, ETHICAL CHOICE, AND
REV ISIO N ............................................... 58
VI. CONCLUSION ........................................... 62
* © Carter Jefferson Dillard, 2004. B.A. Boston College, 1995; J.D. Emory Univer-
sity, 1999. Served as counsel with the U.S. Department of Justice and legal advisor to
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security before entering private practice.
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False Advertising, Animals, and Ethical Consumption
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