EGG FARM FILM TO PREMIERE AT ALMA MATER OF WEGMANS PRESIDENT
Former Student Will Present "Wegmans Cruelty"
Rochester, NY (November 14, 2005) - The documentary "Wegmans Cruelty" makes its premiere this Thursday night at the University of Rochester, where Wegmans President Colleen Wegman received her Business degree in 2000. CEO Danny Wegman is a Senior Trustee of UR.
"Wegmans Cruelty" is an investigation of animal abuse at the egg facility owned and operated by Wegmans Food Markets in Wolcott, NY. Since its release in July, the film has garnered the attention of consumer and animal advocacy groups nationwide.
Thursday's screening will be presented by former UR undergraduate Ryan Merkley. Merkley is currently Campaign Coordinator for the Rochester-based consumer advocacy group Compassionate Consumers, which produced the film. The screening is sponsored by the UR Vegetarian Education Group (UR-VEG).
Date: Thursday, 17 November
Time: 5:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
Place: Hoyt Auditorium, UR River Campus
Investigators for Compassionate Consumers found hens at theWegmans Egg Farm covered with feces and open sores, birdsforced to sleep atop decomposed corpses, beak mutilations,and hens drowning in liquid manure. They rescued nine sick or dying hens from the facility.
"I hope for many UR students this film opens their eyes to the cruelty that takes place at Wegmans' farm," said UR junior Joseph Martinez. "I was shocked when I first watched it."
In recent months, screenings of the documentary in Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse have attracted hundreds ofpeople. In September, a screening of the film at Rochester's Little Theatre drew 128 people to the famed venue; last month's premiere at the Rochester Institute of Technology drew 135.
Since the film's release the campaign headed by Compassionate Consumers has grown steadily. Groups in Ithaca, Syracuse, Buffalo, Baltimore, and elsewhere have all urged Wegmans to stop the cruel use of battery cages at itsWolcott facility.National organizations have also taken notice.
In July, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the nation's largest animal welfare organization, urged Wegmans to phaseout battery cages and discontinue the use of misleading eggadvertising. The HSUS noted that some of Wegmans' largest competitors have already stopped selling battery-cage eggs: this year alone, two of the nation's three largest organic food markets, Whole Foods and Wild Oats, decided to go cage-free. And just last week, organic food chain Trader Joe's agreed to make its own brand of eggs cage-free.
In response to student concerns, this September the University of Rochester removed battery cage eggs from all foods prepared on campus. UR-VEG and Compassionate Consumers are now asking Wegmans to follow suit and phaseout the use of battery cages at their Wolcott facility. Sofar, volunteers at UR have gathered over 1,000 signatures insupport of the effort.
For more information, visit: http://urveg.org
Contact: Hoss Firooznia
Former Student Will Present "Wegmans Cruelty"
Rochester, NY (November 14, 2005) - The documentary "Wegmans Cruelty" makes its premiere this Thursday night at the University of Rochester, where Wegmans President Colleen Wegman received her Business degree in 2000. CEO Danny Wegman is a Senior Trustee of UR.
"Wegmans Cruelty" is an investigation of animal abuse at the egg facility owned and operated by Wegmans Food Markets in Wolcott, NY. Since its release in July, the film has garnered the attention of consumer and animal advocacy groups nationwide.
Thursday's screening will be presented by former UR undergraduate Ryan Merkley. Merkley is currently Campaign Coordinator for the Rochester-based consumer advocacy group Compassionate Consumers, which produced the film. The screening is sponsored by the UR Vegetarian Education Group (UR-VEG).
Date: Thursday, 17 November
Time: 5:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
Place: Hoyt Auditorium, UR River Campus
Investigators for Compassionate Consumers found hens at theWegmans Egg Farm covered with feces and open sores, birdsforced to sleep atop decomposed corpses, beak mutilations,and hens drowning in liquid manure. They rescued nine sick or dying hens from the facility.
"I hope for many UR students this film opens their eyes to the cruelty that takes place at Wegmans' farm," said UR junior Joseph Martinez. "I was shocked when I first watched it."
In recent months, screenings of the documentary in Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse have attracted hundreds ofpeople. In September, a screening of the film at Rochester's Little Theatre drew 128 people to the famed venue; last month's premiere at the Rochester Institute of Technology drew 135.
Since the film's release the campaign headed by Compassionate Consumers has grown steadily. Groups in Ithaca, Syracuse, Buffalo, Baltimore, and elsewhere have all urged Wegmans to stop the cruel use of battery cages at itsWolcott facility.National organizations have also taken notice.
In July, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the nation's largest animal welfare organization, urged Wegmans to phaseout battery cages and discontinue the use of misleading eggadvertising. The HSUS noted that some of Wegmans' largest competitors have already stopped selling battery-cage eggs: this year alone, two of the nation's three largest organic food markets, Whole Foods and Wild Oats, decided to go cage-free. And just last week, organic food chain Trader Joe's agreed to make its own brand of eggs cage-free.
In response to student concerns, this September the University of Rochester removed battery cage eggs from all foods prepared on campus. UR-VEG and Compassionate Consumers are now asking Wegmans to follow suit and phaseout the use of battery cages at their Wolcott facility. Sofar, volunteers at UR have gathered over 1,000 signatures insupport of the effort.
For more information, visit: http://urveg.org
Contact: Hoss Firooznia
posted by a compassionate consumer @ 5:16 AM
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