Dive Brief:
- Cargill will end the use of gestation crates for all company-owned hogs.
- The crates will be banished from Cargill's barns by the end of next year. Contractors who raise Cargill-owned hogs must phase out the crates by the end of 2017.
- The tiny crates have been widely condemned by animal-welfare activists such as the Humane Society of the US, as well as by mainstream groups such as benefits board of the United Methodist Church.
Dive Insight:
Cargill joins a long line of companies that are backing away from this component of animal agriculture. Tyson told contract farmers earlier this year to stop using the crates. And retailers such as Food Lion and Roundy's are pushing suppliers to ban the crates.