Campbell’s exec loses job after alleged racist comments and claims of 3D-printed chicken, company says
Campbell’s Co. said on Wednesday that a vice president reportedly caught on an audio recording disparaging the Camden-based soup giant’s products — claiming the company uses bioengineered meat, which Campbell’s denies — and allegedly making racist comments is no longer an employee.
The allegations emerged after Robert Garza, another former employee, filed a lawsuit last week claiming that he was fired for reporting in January to his manager that Martin Bally, who had a position at Campbell’s as chief information security officer, had made problematic comments to him during a meeting in November 2024.
According to the five-page lawsuit, Bally “made several racist comments about Indian workers at the company.”
Bally also told Garza that Campbell’s products were highly processed food for “poor people,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Michigan, where both Garza and Bally live and worked for the company.
Garza, who worked as a cybersecurity analyst for Campbell’s, did an interview last week with WDIV-TV, an NBC affiliate in Detroit, and provided at least some portions of secretly recorded audio of the meeting to the station for broadcast.
The audio recording is not mentioned in the lawsuit. However, it is legal in Michigan for one party in a conversation to make a recording without the consent of the other party.
The person in the recording, alleged to be Bally, says: “We have s— for f— poor people.” The speaker then acknowledges rarely buying Campbell’s products, saying they are unhealthy.
The voice says that Campbell’s uses “bioengineered meat. I don’t wanna eat a piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer.” The speaker then goes on to make racist comments about coworkers.
“After a review, we believe the voice on the recording is in fact Martin Bally,” Campbell’s Co. said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The comments were vulgar, offensive and false, and we apologize for the hurt they have caused. This behavior does not reflect our values and the culture of our company, and we will not tolerate that kind of language under any circumstances,” the company said.
“As of November 25, Mr. Bally is no longer employed by the company,” Campbell’s said.
Bally could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Campbell’s said in its statement that the company makes food from high-quality ingredients, including real chicken meat.
“We’re thankful for the millions of people who buy and enjoy our products and we’re honored by the trust they put in us,” the company said.
Campbell’s has a new page on its website to answer questions about its food that were raised by the former vice president’s alleged comments.
One section responds to the question: “Is Campbell’s chicken 3D printed?”
“No. We do not use 3D-printed chicken, lab-grown chicken, or any form of artificial or bioengineered meat in our soups,” the website said.
On Monday morning, James Uthmeier, the attorney general of Florida, responded to a post on X from an account apparently based in Ohio raising concerns about “FAKE MEAT that comes from a 3-D printer.”
Uthmeier said: “Florida law bans lab-grown meat. Our Consumer Protection division is launching an investigation and will demand answers from Campbell’s.”
