Lab-Grown Meat?

Campbell Soup Controversy

Photo from Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Campbell's Company, a 155-year-old soup brand, is panicking after their former Vice President Martin Bally was caught yelling unforgivable remarks about Campbell’s food and customers.

In 2024, former Campbell Cyber Security Analyst Robert Garza secretly taped Bally’s controversial rant when the two met in a restaurant to discuss salary. In his rant, Bally claimed that Campbell’s products are unhealthy, produced for poor people and even made derogatory comments directed towards Indian workers.

"We have [expletive] for [expletive] poor people … who buys our [expletive]? ... I don't buy [expletive] Campbell's products, barely anymore. It's not healthy, now that I know what the [expletive] in it,” Bally said in the recording. "Even in a can of soup, I look at it and we can eat pot bioengineered meat. I don't want to eat a [expletive] piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer.”

A lawsuit filed by Garza in Michigan against Campbell highlights this recording as a part of claims of retaliation and a hostile work environment. When Garza tried to bring the recording to the company’s human resources department in 2024, action was not taken and Garza was even fired weeks later. 

Furthermore, State Representative Jerry Neyer is continuing to call for the senate to take action on a plan, House Bill 4076, that requires clear labeling of lab-grown meat products.

Campbell denied Bally’s comments and promptly fired him before issuing a statement of their own. However, many loyal consumers of Campbell’s products feel that they need more convincing to continue buying the company’s products.

“We are proud of the food we make, the people who make it, and the high-quality ingredients we use,” Campbell said. “The comments heard on the recording about our food are not only inaccurate -- they are patently absurd. We use 100% real chicken in our soups. The chicken meat comes from long-trusted, USDA-approved U.S. suppliers and meets our high quality standards. All of our soups are made with No Antibiotics Ever chicken meat. Any claims to the contrary are completely false.”

James Uthmeier, the Attorney General of Florida, explained in a social media post that the state’s Consumer Protection Division is currently looking into the incident.