14 DAY TRIAL // Gestation crates have received their fair share of media attention, and this is largely due to animal rights activists who did their best to make sure that everybody knew just how awful they are.
Yesterday, the Humane Society of the United States issued a press release saying that, in the aftermath of all the turmoil sparked by campaigns rolled out by animal lovers, the Cheesecake Factory made noteworthy progress in terms of eliminating gestation crates from its supply chain.
More precisely, it appears that the restaurant chain has recently announced that, presently, one of its suppliers no longer uses gestation crates when going about its daily work routine.
Besides, The Cheesecake Factory has pointed out that two other suppliers it is doing business with are now trying to also get rid of gestation crates, and switch to treating animals in a more humane manner.
“We are pleased to report that one of our suppliers is currently gestation crate free and at least two others have made commitments to do so at their company-owned operations by 2017,” the company reportedly wrote in a press release.
The Cheesecake Factory agreed to its rid supply chain of gestation crates back in 2012. At that time, it established a 2022 deadline for the completion of this project and, judging by how things are going, the company can be argued to have a chance of meeting its goal.
“As a next step, we plan to work with our pork suppliers to ensure they have commitments and plans in place to end gestation crate use in the entire supply chain servicing us by or before 2022, and we will annually review their progress,” the Cheesecake Factory stresses in its press release.
For those unaware, gestation crates are cages that breeding pigs are forced to live in. These enclosures are so small that the animals do not even have enough room to be able to turn around.
Animal lovers urge that they be phased out, and replaced with more humane housing options such as bigger areas where pregnant pigs can live in groups.