Three More Companies Eliminate Cruel Pig Gestation Crates

This is the second post in a series about Cruelty Free Supply Chains.

Three companies this week made announcements about eliminating cruel sow gestation crates from their pork supply chains. Marriott International is one of those companies. The hotel chain is requiring its pork suppliers to stop using gestation crates, which are used to confine pregnant pigs until they give birth, by 2018. In addition, Marriott announced it will require all eggs to come from cage-free hens by 2015.

Marriott made the announcement in a blog post, which declared that the hotel chain "considers animal welfare an important consideration as we work toward a more sustainable food supply chain, and is addressing these complex issues with our valued vendors who supply our hotels."

"Today’s announcement is the right thing for animals, the environment, our customers and our company," said Brad Nelson, vice president of culinary and corporate chef for Marriott International.

The Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) is glad that Marriott is working to eliminate animal cruelty from its supply chain. "By taking these steps, Marriott International will improve the lives of countless animals," said Josh Balk, corporate policy director for farm animal protection at The HSUS. "The Humane Society of the United States applauds the company for working to raise the bar on these important animal welfare issues."

General Mills works to eliminate animal cruelty from its supply chain

General Mills announced this week that by 2017 its pork supply chain will be gestation crate free. General Mills' announcement adds to the work it has already done to eliminate animal cruelty from its supply chains. This year all eggs sourced for Haagen-Daz products produced in Europe will be from cage-free hens. General Mills is working with farmers' association in Europe to eliminate animal cruelty. When it comes to animal testing, the company has a long-standing policy to "minimize the testing of food products and food ingredients on animals other than humans," and most of its products are not tested on animals.

"We welcome General Mills’ important animal welfare progress and hope the pork industry can read the writing on the wall: gestation crates don’t have a future in the pork industry," stated Josh Balk, corporate policy director for farm animal protection at The HSUS.

Owner of IHOP & Applebees to eliminate gestation crates from its supply chain

DineEquity, owner of restaurant chains IHOP and Applebees, also announced this week that it will eliminate gestation crates from its pork supply chain by 2020. IHOP and Applebees have over 3,400 locations in all 50 states.

"We recognize there are challenges to meeting this goal, but as one of the world’s largest full-service restaurant companies, we are confident our suppliers will meet our expectations and work with us to achieve this objective," stated Kevin Mortesen, DineEquity’s Vice President, Communications.

Image source: Wikipedia user, SlimVirgin