My name is Heather. I’m an everyday mom in Dallas, and I'm a member of nonprofit group The Humane League. I try to be the role model I think my son, Ayden, deserves. I work long hours and dig deep for the energy to provide love and guidance every day. If you’re a mom (or dad), I’m sure you know the feeling.

One value I try to impart to my child is kindness to animals. How many of us had to stop our children from pulling our dog’s tail, or chasing after frightened cats? Of course, they don’t mean harm but at the same time, it’s up to us to mold them into the compassionate people we hope they become.

So I couldn’t have been prouder when my son recently discovered a hypocrisy of mine. A friend of his forwarded a video depicting some of the worst images I’d ever seen. It’s of baby chicks in the egg industry being ground up alive shortly after they hatched—essentially being put in a garbage disposal! I’ve never been so shocked.

Though it makes sense now, it had never occurred to me that only female chickens can lay eggs. So what to do with the male chicks? Egg-laying chickens are bred to be really small while meat chickens are bred to be really large, so the males can’t be used for their meat. They’re basically useless to the egg industry, and so producers just grind them up as soon as they’re born. It’s despicable.

After we both wiped our tears from what may have been the most disturbing video we’ve ever watched, we were determined to try and make a difference for those poor baby birds. Then it struck me. While making a sandwich, I noticed that eggs are a primary ingredient in Best Foods/Hellmann’s mayo.

Of course, my mind went right to the video. I thought back to seeing those baby birds ground up alive and was just ill to think how I’d been supporting that heinous abuse by purchasing Best Foods/Hellmann’s. The loving act of warmly making Ayden a sandwich turned into something horrible. 

In the name of my child, who brings out the best out of me, I hope you’ll join us in calling on Best Foods/Hellmann’s to stop paying for animal abuse.

-Heather and The Humane League