McDonald's Tells Suppliers to Show Compassion

Responding to pressure from customers, McDonald's told its five direct suppliers of pork products they should submit

plans for phasing out gestational crates in which pregnant sows are confined for months unable to turn around. The inhumane practice is torture for pigs. Unable to lie down comfortably or turn leads to health problems including mental stress [photo credit: Humane Society of the US]. Around 60 to 70% of sows are kept in the 2x7 crates. The buying power of McDonald's puts punch behind the movement to give farm animals a more bearable existence before they are consumed by humans. The company required its egg suppliers to increase the amount of cage space devoted to laying hens in 1999. Other fast food companies followed its lead. Now a majority of egg producers are giving their hens more space. Pigs are hierarchical so when numbers are confined in pens there is inevitably fighting over food water and space. The crates are justified as a way to reduce injuries. Smithfield Foods and Cargill, two major corporate pork producers, have already begun reducing reliance on sow stalls. The Humane Society says Cargill is 50% stall free and Smithfield, the world's largest pork producer, has pledged to stop using the stalls by 2017 after an undercover investigation released video of pigs suffering in stalls. Hormel recently announced it will match Smithfield's pledge.