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McDonald's asks pork suppliers to phase out gestation stalls

February 14, 2012

In a move applauded by the Humane Society of the United States, the American Humane Association and other animal activist organizations, McDonald's Corporation announced it will require its U.S. pork suppliers to transition away from the use of sow gestation stalls.

Gestation stalls have long been criticized as being inhumane, as they are too small for sows to move freely.

"All animals deserve humane treatment, including farm animals, and it's just wrong to immobilize animals for their whole lives in crates barely larger than their bodies," said Wayne Pacelle, the HSUS' president and CEO.

The HSUS applauded McDonald's announcement, calling it "important and promising." The American Humane Association also supported the move. The new requirement of McDonald's pork suppliers meets the AHA's standards for the humane treatment of sows.

"Millions of pigs spend their lives in crates that are inhumanely small and do not allow them to move freely and express their natural behaviors," said Dr. Robin Ganzert, AHA president and CEO. "This leadership on the part of McDonald's will not only advance the welfare of millions of animals but will most likely encourage other food service providers and retailers to follow suit."

McDonald's actions have also been backed by leading independent animal welfare experts, including renowned scientist Dr. Temple Grandin.

"Moving from gestation stalls to better alternatives will improve the welfare of sows and I'm pleased to see McDonald's working with its suppliers toward that end. It takes a thorough plan to address the training of animal handlers, proper feeding systems, and the significant financial investment and logistics involved with such a big change. I'm optimistic about this announcement," Grandin said.

Dan Gorsky, senior vice president of McDonald's North America Supply Chain, said the gestation stalls are not a sustainable production system for the future.

"There are alternatives that we think are better for the welfare of sows," he said. "McDonald's wants to see the end of sow confinement in gestation stalls in our supply chain. We are beginning an assessment with our U.S. suppliers to determine how to build on the work already underway to reach that goal."

McDonald's will receive suppliers' plans by May, and will then share results from the assessment, as well as its next steps.

Gorsky said many of McDonald's U.S. suppliers have already adopted commercially-viable alternatives.

"For example, Smithfield Foods and Cargill have made significant progress in this area," he said. "We applaud these, and future, efforts."

This is the second major decision regarding animal welfare by the quick-service giant in recent months. In November, McDonald's announced it was dropping egg supplier Sparboe Farms following an investigative report unearthing animal cruelty practices.

At that time, Bob Langert, McDonald's vice president of sustainability, said: "McDonald's expects all of our suppliers to meet our stringent requirements for delivering high-quality food prepared in a humane and responsible manner... McDonald's wants to assure our customers that we demand humane treatment of animals by our suppliers. We take this responsibility – along with our customers' trust – very seriously."

A study by food industry consultancy Technomic ranked animal welfare as the third most-important social issue to restaurant patrons, and an American Farm Bureau-funded report found that 89 percent of Americans believe that food companies that require their suppliers to treat farm animals better are doing the right thing.

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