{"id":1184652,"date":"2026-02-20T10:52:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T18:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/?p=1184652"},"modified":"2026-03-27T06:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T13:27:07","slug":"pepsi-animal-welfare-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/news\/pepsi-animal-welfare-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"PepsiCo\u2019s Promises Fall Flat While Bulls Pay the Price"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Update (March 16, 2026): PepsiCo is falling flat\u2014it\u2019s all fizz, no action.<\/strong> PETA is blasting PepsiCo<\/strong> for failing to investigate whether its suppliers in India are contributing to the well-documented (and videotaped) suffering of bulls used to haul the sugarcane that PepsiCo sources for its branded beverages. PETA alerted the company in early 2025 that the abuse of bulls violates PepsiCo\u2019s own Global Policy on Animal Welfare\u2014yet the company appears to have done nothing to help stop the bulls suffering for its sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, PETA is calling on PepsiCo to \u201cCut the Bull. Choose Cruelty-Free!\u201d in a full-page spread in Crain\u2019s New York Business<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Humane options are already in use<\/em><\/a>, including eco-tractors that can replace bulls and boost efficiency, but PepsiCo\u2019s Indian bottling partner remains tied to an industry where gentle, social bulls are forced to drag carts illegally loaded with up to 8,000 pounds of sugarcane under the scorching sun<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I Want to Help Bulls<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Originally published February 20, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There may be something not-so-sweet about PepsiCo Inc.\u2019s operations, but thanks to the PETA Foundation\u2019s legal action on behalf of a PepsiCo shareholder, the company\u2019s shareholders may soon seek answers. Less than a day after PETA Foundation attorneys sued PepsiCo for trying to block a shareholder proposal seeking an investigation into the treatment of animals in its supply chains, the company reversed course. It swiftly agreed to include a proposal on the matter in its 2026 annual meeting. Pepsi swiftly agreed to include the proposal on the matter in its 2026 annual meeting.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why PETA Took the Cola Company to Court<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

PepsiCo\u2019s bottling partner in India is tied to an industry where workers violently beat bulls with sticks and whips while forcing them to haul carts illegally overloaded with up to four tons of sugarcane<\/strong>. The shareholder resolution, submitted by PETA in November 2025, confronted PepsiCo executives for failing to address the well-documented cruelty\u2014even when kind solutions are <\/em>readily available<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>including eco-tractors that can replace multiple bulls in one go and <\/span>improve production and delivery efficiency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Instead of addressing the abuse, PepsiCo tried to block the resolution from even appearing on its upcoming annual meeting agenda. So PETA Foundation attorneys filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to ensure shareholders get the transparency they, and animals, deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lawsuit alleged that PepsiCo broke the law by failing to notify a shareholder of the supposed \u201cdeficiencies\u201d in her proposal, while later claiming the issues weren\u2019t fixed in time. Following PETA\u2019s move, Pepsi agreed to put the resolution to a vote.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sorry to Burst Anyone\u2019s Bubble \u2026 Some Sugar Comes at a Cruel Cost  <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bulls are naturally social, gentle animals who form close friendships and protect their fellow herd members. But in parts of India\u2019s sugar industry, they\u2019re treated like machines. Humans force them to work long, grueling hours under the blazing sun without rest or water. If the bulls \u201cdisobey,\u201d slow down, or turn their heads, barbed-wire spikes dig into their faces, and thick ropes tear at their nostrils.<\/strong> Handlers sometimes even work them to death<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the hidden cost of sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How PETA Is Helping India\u2019s Bulls<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

More than 50,000 PETA supporters have called on PepsiCo to require its partners and suppliers to switch to modern eco-tractors. Animal Rahat, a PETA-supported charity in India, has been leading the charge. Through its Sugarcane Industry Mechanization Project<\/strong><\/a>, Animal Rahat has replaced bull-driven carts with efficient, cost-effective tractors. Thanks to these efforts, one-third of Maharashtra\u2019s sugar production is now bull-free<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A single tractor can carry up to 18 tons of sugar per trip, far more than a bull-driven cart\u2014boosting farmers\u2019 incomes while sparing animals from suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PepsiCo can\u2014and should\u2014help us drive this transition. Join us in urging Pepsi to go bull-free:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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