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Costco latest company to take 'no gestation crate' pledge
Story Date: 7/19/2012
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Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 7/18/12
Costco, the nation's second-largest food retailer, has joined the growing number of grocers and foodservice companies requiring their pork suppliers to move toward eliminating gestation crates for sows.
Costco is calling on its pork supplier to eliminate the controversial crates by 2022, according to a release by the Humane Society of the United States, the animal welfare organization leading the call to cease using the crates.
“We want all of the hogs throughout our pork supply chain to be housed in groups … and expect that this transition should be accomplished no later than 2022,” wrote Doug Schutt, Costco’s executive vice president of merchandising in a letter sent to the company’s pork suppliers, HSUS says. “All of us at Costco take animal welfare seriously and consider humane animal handling a business imperative.”
Costco’s decision follows discussions with animal welfare group Mercy For Animals about undercover video taken by the organization at a gestation crate pig confinement facility supplying pork to Costco stores, as well as after discussions with The HSUS.
Other companies that have made the same or similar announcements this calendar year include McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Kroger, Safeway, Kraft (Oscar Mayer), Heinz, Denny’s, Cracker Barrel, Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, Sonic, Baja Fresh, Kmart, Compass Group and Sodexo.
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