In solidarity with the movement to eliminate racist branding, we demand that:

1.)   Hormel Foods change the name and image of their brand, COLUMBUS® Craft Meats

2.)   Grocery store chains, including Trader Joe’s and Costco, commit to no longer carrying COLUMBUS® Craft Meats products until the brand changes its name and icon

Christopher Columbus represents colonization, oppression, and genocide. Many teachers and textbooks are now taking the vital step of dismantling the myth of Columbus. Some states have even officially changed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day. Yet COLUMBUS® Craft Meats continues to market a product that depicts a man who was single-handedly responsible for the destruction and genocide of millions of inhabitants of a land he mistakenly thought was India.

As a former public school teacher who spent countless hours dispelling the lies of U.S. History, and having personally boycotted this brand for over 5 years - I think that it’s time for me to take this stance to a wider audience. 

COLUMBUS® Craft Meats is not a small brand. In 2016, they were the most widely distributed deli meat in the United States, and in 2017, they were sold to Hormel Foods for over 850 million dollars. Other big brands as well as sports teams have committed to remove their racist branding, and it is time for another multi-million dollar company to do away with a logo that celebrates one of history’s greatest villains. 

As signers of this petition, we are committed to:

1.)   Not purchasing any COLUMBUS® Craft Meat products until the brand changes its label and icon.

2.)   Pressuring stores that carry this brand to remove it from their shelves until Hormel Foods complies. 

“COLUMBUS® Meats has got to go!”