Bob’s Red Mill Responds.

Last week we ran a post about the proposed $25 million donation to Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) from Bob’s Red Mill founders, Bob and Charlee Moore. Fans of the Red Mill were crushed to learn that OHSU is a major center for animal testing. Saddened customers sent tweets, wrote letters, and even started facebook groups to try and convince Bob and Charlee to change their minds and take back the pledge.

Yesterday, Bob’s Red Mill’s public relations staff published a response on the company website on behalf of Bob and Charlee. Check out their response as well as the message from OHSU.

Here is what I took from Bob and Charlee’s message:

- They were alarmed by the overwhelming response from customers.

- They addressed the customer’s animal testing concerns with OHSU.

- They claimed that their donation won’t be spent on animal testing.

The responses from both parties were well crafted. Bob seemed genuinely concerned but OHSU was purposefully vague. OHSU mentions the focus of the funds but still will not say that the funds won’t be spent on animal testing. In fact, OHSU goes out of their way to not use the words “animal testing” at all. If they are truly not going to spend the funds on animal testing then they can easily say that.

Some will argue that even though Bob and Charlee say the funds won’t be spent on animal testing, a $25 million dollar donation to one part of the university allows OHSU to relocate less restricted funds to another part which may test on animals. 

I don’t think I’d be alone in saying that a $25 million donation to an organization that tests on animals is not a good thing. OHSU was ranked among the Ten Worst Labratories for violations to the Animal Welfare Act. With this legacy, it will be hard for Bob and Charlee to keep explaining “yes, we gave money to an institution that tests on animals but we told them not to spend the money on animal testing.”

In the end, animals are still suffering in OHSU laboratories. The Moore’s of Bob’s Red Mill gave $25 million to an institution renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall calls “barbaric” and a “very black mark against humanity.” Fans of Bob and his Red Mill are left shaking their heads confused, disappointed, and wondering why the Moore’s didn’t look for a nutritional research institute that doesn’t test on animals.