Toluca Lake, CA — Animal activist network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) and allied organizations plan to gather outside the Trader Joe’s store at 10130 Riverside Dr, Toluca Lake, CA 91020, on Saturday, February 28 at 3:15 PM to demand the grocery chain end its relationship with a controversial poultry supplier.
The protest follows a recent ruling by a California court that partially denied Trader Joe’s attempt to prohibit demonstrations at its 205 California locations. The company had sought a sweeping ban on protests both inside and outside its stores as legal action intensified over alleged supplier abuses. The judge allowed outdoor protests to continue as part of protected free speech rights.
DxE activists have spent years calling attention to conditions at Petaluma Poultry, a subsidiary of national poultry producer Perdue Foods that supplies chickens sold under Trader Joe’s private-label brands. Investigations by DxE and partner groups have documented what they say are severe animal welfare violations, including birds left without adequate food or water on farms and footage suggesting that some chickens enter the scalding tanks at the slaughterhouse while still conscious – a practice activists describe as birds being “boiled alive.”
The campaign also highlights concerns about food safety risks. Data reported by independent sources indicate that Petaluma Poultry’s slaughterhouse has shown levels of campylobacter and salmonella contamination far above national averages, conditions that critics argue pose public health concerns.
The Toluca Lake protest is part of a broader grassroots effort to pressure Trader Joe’s to publicly cut ties with Petaluma Poultry. Activists argue that continued sourcing from the facility contradicts the humane and ethical values often associated with the company’s marketing. Demonstrators typically carry signs, chant outside stores, and distribute information connecting grocery brands to factory farming conditions.
In a related legal case that has drawn attention, animal rights investigator Zoe Rosenberg, associated with DxE, was convicted and sentenced in late 2025 on charges including felony conspiracy and misdemeanors for openly rescuing four suffering chickens from the Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse. She has maintained her actions were acts of compassion to save animals from cruel conditions.
Trader Joe’s has not formally announced changes to its supplier relationships in response to the ongoing protests. The company maintains it is committed to compliance with animal welfare and food safety standards, although activists argue that public disclosures and third-party audits fall short of what is needed to ensure humane conditions.
Supporters of DxE’s campaign say the Toluca Lake event is one of many actions planned nationwide until Trader Joe’s addresses these concerns.