Meat&Poultry - September 2012 - 29

n 1807, an English hog farmer named Joseph Pattinson of Es-

of all breeding sows are now housed in gestation crates. Paralleling the growth of this system is the concern about the quality of life experienced by sows in it. In recent months, the issue of gestation crates has generated an avalanche of activity. Every few weeks brings a new announcement of a food company to mandate the phase-out of gestation crates. At press time, foodservice and retailers requiring their suppliers to phase out use of the crates included: McDonald’s Burger King, Jack in the Box, Wendy’s, Denny’s, Sonic, Cracker Barrel, Tim Horton’s, Carl’s Jr./Hardees, Subway, Wienerschnitzel, Compass Group, Kroger, Safeway, Fresh Enterprises, Kraft Foods, Sysco, Aramark, Costco and Heinz.

get date, has already converted over 50 percent of its facilities. Mike Siemens, Cargill’s animal welfare leader, points out that Cargill began to phase out gestation crates over 10 years ago: “Cargill’s evaluation of alternative sow housing began in 2002,” he notes. “At that time our company began integrating the use of group housing. The change is ongoing; we continue to study alternative housing options and husbandry techniques.” The commitment to phase out has not been across the board. Tyson Foods and Seaboard Farms are among large producers who have declined phasing out gestation crates.

sex County, England, introduced a unique method of fattening hogs for the market. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Essex, (1813), notes “he builds his styes in divisions, each to contain a pig, and to fit him as near as may be; when he is in, he cannot attempt to turn himself round... he is enabled to lay down at pleasure. He finds that they fatten far better in these styes than in common ones, and attributes it to their being much more quiet.” Two centuries later, Pattinson’s method of individual, closely confined housing has been creating quite a stir. Introduced into modern production in 1969, gestation crates are stalls approximately 7 ft. long by 2 ft. wide, in which breeding sows spend their entire adult lives. The system provides several benefits for producers, including lower space requirements, individual control of feeding, reduced social stress and a safer work environment for handlers. Resulting in lower costs for producers and improved physical safety for sows, this led to widespread expansion of the system in the 1980s and 90s. It is estimated that 83 percent

A tipping point
Though recent public announcements have come in a flurry, the concern over crate housing has been simmering for years. Matt Prescott, food policy director at the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), observes, “We’ve been following the growth of ge st at ion c r ate s si nce t hei r introduction in 1969, and through the 1990s, as crate confinement reached industry-wide status. This has been a priority for us for more than a decade. We helped pass the

Mixed response
To date, three large pork producers have announced plans to eliminate the use of gestation crates. Smithfield announced in December that they will phase out their use by 2017; 30 percent of facilities have already been converted. In January, Hormel announced that its company-owned facilities will be converted by 2017. Cargill, while not announcing a tar-

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Discussion over gestation housing continues
among processors, experts and consumers
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Meat&Poultry - September 2012

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