McDonald’s Corporation has announced that it will require its U.S. pork suppliers to outline their plans to phase out the use of sow gestation stalls, a move supported by the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS).
“McDonald’s believes gestation stalls are not a sustainable production system for the future. There are alternatives that we think are better for the welfare of sows,” says Dan Gorsky, senior vice president of McDonald’s North America supply chain management. “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. In May, after receiving our suppliers’ plans, we’ll share results from the assessment and our next steps.”
“HSUS has been a longtime advocate for ending the use of gestation crates, and McDonald’s announcement is important and promising,” says Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO. “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.”
