Butterball

Maxwell Farms, LLC — the agribusiness affiliate of Goldsboro Milling Company — quietly holds a major ownership stake in Butterball, one of the largest turkey producers in the United States. Though not as publicly visible as its co-owner Seaboard Corporation, Maxwell Farms is structurally and financially tied to the same industrial practices that have generated animal cruelty scandals, public health concerns, and regulatory backlash across the poultry industry.

As a primary owner of Butterball, Maxwell benefits from and helps sustain the systems that enable large-scale abuse, weakened oversight, and deregulatory lobbying that prioritizes output over humane or safe conditions.

Deep Roots in Industrial Turkey Production

Maxwell Farms is part of Goldsboro Milling’s agribusiness network, a long-time participant in high-volume industrial turkey production. This model emphasizes cost efficiency and maximum throughput, often at the expense of animal welfare, worker protections, and environmental integrity. Maxwell’s role in Butterball ties it directly to the conditions present in one of the nation’s most scrutinized poultry supply chains.

Industrial turkey production is built on practices such as overcrowded barns, rapid-growth genetics, heavy antibiotic use, and high-waste confinement systems — conditions well documented by investigators and advocacy groups. By virtue of its ownership stake, Maxwell Farms profits from these systems and holds responsibility for their continuation.

Shared Responsibility for Butterball Abuse Scandals

Maxwell Farms’ ownership position means it shares responsibility for severe and repeated animal cruelty issues documented within Butterball facilities. Undercover investigations have shown workers punching, stomping, throwing, dragging, and violently handling live turkeys, along with disturbing acts such as “simulated sex acts” on birds. These findings were highlighted in reporting by 10News, video evidence released by PETA, and coverage summarizing the resurgence of abuse reports in 2024 by Merca2.0.

These incidents also led to multiple cruelty convictions of Butterball workers. Maxwell Farms is not a bystander to this behavior — as co-owner, it directly benefits from the production system in which these abuses occurred.

Participation in the National Turkey Federation and MAHA Alignment

Alongside Seaboard Corporation, Maxwell Farms participates in the National Turkey Federation (NTF), one of the industry’s primary lobbying groups. The NTF has publicly endorsed components of the “MAHA” movement — a coalition associated with weak or dubious scientific claims, vaccine skepticism, and distrust of established public health institutions. This position was outlined in statements released by the NTF (NTF Statement).

Analyses from organizations such as ACSH, Vox Global, City Journal, and the Feminist Majority Foundation describe MAHA as a movement that directly challenges evidence-based health policy and often amplifies misinformation. Maxwell Farms’ participation in an organization aligned with these positions underscores its connection to political and regulatory agendas that undermine public health protections.

The Bigger Picture

Maxwell Farms’ influence in U.S. poultry production cannot be separated from its ownership in Butterball, its industry alliances, or its participation in lobbying networks that push for weaker regulation and questionable public health stances. The company is structurally embedded in:

• the animal cruelty record at Butterball facilities,
• the industrial agriculture model that prioritizes speed and scale over welfare and safety,
• industry-wide campaigns to weaken oversight and inspections,
• public-health-affecting advocacy through the National Turkey Federation.

Bottom Line

Maxwell Farms is not a household name — and that’s part of the problem. Its low public profile allows it to profit quietly from practices and lobbying agendas that harm animals, workers, and communities. Its long-standing position in the industrial turkey supply chain, combined with its ties to controversial industry groups, makes it a company that does not deserve consumer support.

For anyone who cares about humane treatment, public health, and responsible corporate behavior, Maxwell Farms’ record shows why it belongs on the Big Beautiful Boycott list.

Seaboard Corporation is a multinational agribusiness and transportation conglomerate, and the controlling owner of Butterball, LLC. Behind the bland corporate branding lies a company that has aggressively pushed for deregulation in the meatpacking industry, fought against limits on slaughter line speeds, benefited from Trump-era regulatory rollbacks, and aligned itself with industry groups backing dubious health and scientific positions. The pattern is clear: lower standards, weaker oversight, and higher risk for workers, animals, and consumers.

Targeted Deregulation and Faster Slaughter Lines

Seaboard’s meatpacking arm has actively lobbied the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to roll back safeguards in processing plants. The company supported the New Swine Inspection System, which reduces the number of federal inspectors on slaughter lines and allows for higher line speeds — meaning more animals killed per minute, with less independent oversight.

In one example, Seaboard Foods pushed to delay a ruling that would limit hog line speeds, seeking to maintain faster processing rates that increase output but heighten risks to workers, animals, and food safety (Supermarket Perimeter).

These efforts are part of a broader push by the meat industry to dismantle USDA safeguards, including reduced inspections and looser enforcement in plants (Farmstand).

Profiting from Trump-Era Meatpacking Policies

During the Trump administration, Seaboard and its peers in the meatpacking industry leveraged their influence to secure policies that prioritized production and profit over worker safety and public health.

• The industry, including Seaboard Foods, worked with USDA officials to designate meatpacking workers as “critical infrastructure,” keeping plants open even when COVID-19 risks were severe.
• Companies cultivated close relationships with USDA political appointees, such as Under Secretary Mindy Brashears, to block or weaken health and safety regulations within plants — reduced oversight directly translated into lower costs and fewer interruptions.
• Meatpacking firms lobbied the Trump administration for policies that limited worker absenteeism and reduced corporate liability for COVID infections, enabling plants to continue operating despite serious health concerns.

A detailed report on the industry’s pandemic response describes how regulatory relief during this period functioned as a form of regulatory capture, reducing compliance burdens and preserving profits for large operators, such as Seaboard (Meatpacking report).

Separate investigations have revealed that meatpacking companies played a significant role in drafting the executive order that kept plants open during the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring the industry's profound influence on federal policy, which ultimately served its own interests (ProPublica).

Systemic Deregulation at the Expense of Workers, Animals, and Consumers

Seaboard’s record aligns with a broader meat industry strategy: lobbying for weaker oversight, fewer inspections, and faster line speeds. These changes do not happen in a vacuum. They increase the risk of:

• more worker injuries and infections in crowded, high-speed plants
• more suffering and mishandling of animals on the line
• more potential food safety problems reaching consumers

When a company repeatedly pushes in the same direction — advocating for less regulation, greater speed, and reduced accountability — it sends a clear message about its priorities. Seaboard’s profit model depends on externalizing these risks onto workers, animals, surrounding communities, and the public.

Alignment with MAHA-Linked Industry Groups

Seaboard, through its ownership stake in Butterball, participates in the National Turkey Federation. That federation has publicly supported the “MAHA” movement, a coalition associated with weak or flawed science, vaccine skepticism, distrust of public health institutions, conflicts of interest, and the commercialization of health policy debates (National Turkey Federation).

Analyses and commentary on MAHA describe a movement that challenges established public health norms and amplifies controversial or fringe positions on vaccines and health regulation (ACSH, Vox Global, City Journal, Feminist Majority Foundation).

Seaboard’s participation in and benefit from these industry structures ties it to a broader ecosystem that undermines strong public health protections and regulatory safeguards.

Bottom Line

Seaboard Corporation is not just a neutral food company. It is a powerful agribusiness and meatpacking player that:

• lobbies to weaken USDA oversight and speed up slaughter lines,
• benefited from Trump-era policies that kept plants running through a deadly pandemic,
• helped shape federal decisions that prioritized production over worker and community safety, and
• participates in industry networks aligned with movements that undermine public health and science-based regulation.

For individuals who prioritize workers’ rights, animal welfare, food safety, and transparent public health standards, Seaboard’s track record is a clear warning sign. Supporting companies owned or controlled by Seaboard means reinforcing a business model built on deregulation, risk-shifting, and political influence — not on protecting the communities that make its profits possible.