Settlement Reached in California Water Use Lawsuit against Foster Poultry Farms

SAN FRANCISCO – The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) and Foster Poultry Farms have reached a settlement of the lawsuit filed against Foster Poultry Farms in 2020.

ALDF’s complaint alleged that Foster Poultry Farms unreasonably uses water to slaughter and process chickens at its poultry-processing plant in Livingston, California in violation of Article X, section 2 of the California Constitution, which mandates that all water use in the State of California must be reasonable. While Foster Poultry Farms completely denies ALDF’s allegations regarding its water use and animal welfare practices, it has agreed to continue to work to improve water conservation and animal welfare at its Livingston poultry-processing plant, which is the largest chicken poultry-processing plant on the West Coast.

“This settlement will increase water conservation in a critically overdrafted groundwater basin, which will benefit communities and wildlife in the region,” says ALDF Senior Staff Attorney Christine Ball-Blakely. “It will also improve conditions for the many chickens slaughtered and processed in this plant each day.”

Jason Flanders of Aqua Terra Aeris (ATA) Law Group also served as counsel for ALDF in this matter.