Safeway To Sell Pork From Farms That Don't Use Sow Crates
May 07 2012 - 5:00PM
Dow Jones News
The nationwide grocery store chain Safeway Inc. (SWY) announced
plans Monday to eventually sell pork that comes from farms that do
not confine breeding sows into small crates known as gestation
stalls.
Safeway's announcement comes after recent declarations by
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) and Burger King Corp. to get the pork they
serve from farms that don't use the crates. But the Safeway
decision represents the first of the largest U.S. grocery chains to
make the commitment.
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM), a smaller, but also nationwide
chain, does not sell pork from suppliers that use the crates and
hasn't done so in about 10 years, a spokeswoman said.
The commitment from Safeway, with its 1,678 stores in the U.S.
and Canada, is substantial for those who believe the use of the
gestation stall are inhumane because the company is the
fifth-largest grocery retailer in the U.S.
The stalls are narrow two-feet-wide cages used to confine
breeding sows, which bear offspring that are slaughtered to make
pork products. Breeding sows often cannot turn around in the narrow
stalls and are limited to standing up or sitting down.
There are currently about 5.8 million breeding sows in pork
production operation in the U.S., according to U.S. Department of
Agriculture data.
"Safeway's decision to move away from gestation crates is
welcome and encouraging news," said Wayne Pacelle, president and
chief executive of The Humane Society of the U.S. "Given the scope
and quantity of pork products sold by Safeway, this announcement is
an important step in addressing animal welfare in the company's
supply chain."
It may be years before the Safeway switch is complete, company
spokesman Brian Dowling said, but Safeway decided to make the plan
public after getting word from some of its suppliers were making
headway in producing pork without the crates.
"Our company supports the efforts of our suppliers who have
committed to reductions in their use of gestation stalls," Dowling
said.
-By Bill Tomson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-646-0088;
bill.tomson@dowjones.com
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