Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 12/17/14

Panera Bread’s pork supply will be entirely antibiotic-free and its sows will no longer be housed in gestation stalls by January, the company has announced in an update to its recently launched Food Policy.

“For years, Panera has been working closely with farmers, ranchers and experts to learn how we can tangibly improve conditions for the farm animals in our supply chain," Blaine Hurst, executive vice president at Panera, said in a news release.

"We’ve intentionally reduced or eliminated the use of antibiotics and confinement because we believe those are among the most critical animal welfare issues we can impact.”

The company added that 91 percent of its pork supply was antibiotic-free and was sourced from farms where pregnant sows were raised in group housing and fed a vegetarian diet throughut 2014. By January 2015, Panera’s entire pork supply – approximately 8 million pounds – is expected meet or exceed those standards.

Wednesday’s announcement comes on the heels of a similar announcement from Carl’s Jr., which will soon will be serving an “All-Natural Burger” made with a “grass-fed, free-range” beef patty that has “no added hormones, antibiotics or steroids.”

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