Campbell’s contains ‘bioengineered meat’: What a lawsuit filed by former IT employee claims

A former Campbell's worker who secretly recorded a company vice president's alleged insulting remarks about customers, racist statements about workers and claims of 3D printed chicken used in soups says he was fired after raising concerns Photo by Justin Sullivan /Getty Images

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A top executive at Campbell’s has been placed on temporary leave as of Tuesday as the world’s largest soup maker begins an internal investigation into a scandal that broke last week.

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The decision regarding putting Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer Martin Bally on leave was made after audio recordings of him were released to media outlets by former employee Robert Garza on Saturday. Just two days before that, Garza had filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging wrongful termination in Michigan on Thursday.

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Here’s what we know about the controversy involving the 154-year-old company.

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What ignited the Campbell’s controversy?

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The scandal kickstarted after the expletive-laden audio remarks were shared with NBC Detroit affiliate WDIV last week and later with Business Insider. The remarks were part of an hour-long recording Garza said he made at a restaurant where he was allegedly meeting with Bally in November to discuss his salary as a security analyst.

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Garza told WDIV he recorded the encounter because his instincts told him “something wasn’t right” with Bally.

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“We have s— for f—ing poor people. Who buys our s—, ” a man’s voice is heard asking on the recording.

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The man adds that he doesn’t purchase the company’s products anymore, saying he doesn’t consider it “healthy” knowing what’s in it, alleging cans of soup contain “bioengineered meat,” a product grown in a lab or genetically modified as opposed to being raised organically.

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“I don’t want to eat a f—ing piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer,” he allegedly said.

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At another point, the man is heard disparaging the intelligence of Indian employees.

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“F—ing Indians don’t know a f—ing thing. Like they couldn’t think for their f—ing selves,” the man says.

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National Post has not independently confirmed the audio’s authenticity.

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Why is the former Campbell’s employee suing the soup company?

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Filed Thursday in Wayne County Circuit Court, Garza’s suit alleges that he brought the recordings and his concerns from the meeting with Bally to his supervisor, JP Aupperle, in early January, only to be fired before the end of the month.

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The statement of claim alleges that Bally and Aupperle, along with the company itself, are guilty of a civil rights violation by creating a racially hostile work environment.

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“This situation has been very hard on Robert,” Zach Runyan, Garza’s lawyer, wrote in an email to National Post that included a copy of the statement of claim. 

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“He thought Campbell’s would be thankful that he reported Martin’s behavior, but instead he was abruptly fired.”