14 DAY TRIAL // This past Wednesday, Dunkin' Donuts (i.e. the international donut and coffee retailer), together with ConAgra, (i.e. an American packaged foods company) made it public news that they are to push towards ridding their supply chains of pork coming from so-called “gestation crates.”
As well as this, Dunkin' Donuts emphasized the fact that, by the end of the following year, 5% of the eggs presently used in making its breakfast sandwiches will be cage-free.
To cut a long story short, both these companies intend to do their best in clearing their working agenda of any links to cases of animal abuse.
Sources report that, as was to be expected, the US Humane Society welcomed these decisions, more so given the fact that, as of lately, several similar companies have announced their plans to eliminate gestation crates from their supply chain.
More precisely, McDonald's, Burger King and Subway all wish to lend a helping hand in pushing for animal rights by demanding their suppliers to provide animals with more humane living conditions.
For those unaware, gestation crates are incredibly small enclosures in which female pigs are kept all throughout their pregnancy and sometimes their entire life, without having any room to turn around or move freely.
One such gestation crate measures about 6.6 ft x 2.0 ft (2 m x 60 cm), and is intended to house female pigs weighing as much as 600 lbs (270 kg).
Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that animal rights activists are dead set on no longer allowing farmers to use them.
It is not difficult to guess that the same complaints are raised with respect to the battery cages used by poultry farms.
Apparently, ConAgra's suppliers have until the year 2017 to develop working solutions for the phasing out of gestation crates, and Dunkin' Donut's supply chain has also been asked to address this issue as soon as possible.