Crammed into Crates

Life for America's breeding pigs

Pigs are extremely smart, social animals capable of feeling fear, pain, and stress. Studies show that they are more intelligent than dogs and even some primates, and scientists have demonstrated that pigs are capable of playing simple video games, learning from each other, and even learning names.

Most breeding sows in the U.S. are confined in "gestation crates" for virtually their entire lives. These crates are about the same width and length of a pig's body, preventing the animals from even turning around. This is one of the cruelest practices in all of agribusiness.

The science is clear

Renowned animal welfare scientist Dr. Temple Grandin says, "We've got to treat animals right, and gestation stalls have got to go."

The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production—which was funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and included the former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture—recommended that "all systems that restrict natural movement," including gestation crates, be phased out.

The economics stack up

The alternative is "group housing," which affords animals greater freedom of movement.

Iowa State University conducted a two-and-a-half year long economic analysis of the issue and found that that "group housing…resulted in a weaned pig cost that was 11 percent less than the cost of a weaned pig from the individual stall confinement system."

Legislation and corporations are driving reforms

Following the efforts of HSUS and other animal protection advocates, eight U.S. states have passed laws to prohibit the use of gestation crates.

Some of the world's largest food companies—like McDonald's, Wendy's, and Compass Group (the top foodservice company in the world)—have announced that they will eliminate gestation crates from their supply chains.

In a February 2012 announcement [PDF], McDonald's stated, "McDonald's believes gestation stalls are not a sustainable production system for the future" and "McDonald's wants to see the end of sow confinement in gestation stalls in our supply chain."

Other companies—like Burger King, Sonic, Safeway, Harris Teeter, Winn-Dixie, Carl's Jr., Hardee's, and Quiznos, and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers—have adopted policies to move away from pork from pigs confined in gestation crates. Chipotle, Whole Foods, Wolfgang Puck and others only use gestation crate-free pork.

Public opinion

An American Farm Bureau poll found that 95 percent of Americans believe farm animals should be well-cared for. Citigroup reported that cruelty to animals presents a "headline risk" to restaurant companies.

A study by the food industry consulting firm Technomic found that animal welfare is the third most important social issue to restaurant patrons, outranking the environment. And a Michigan State University study found that 60 percent or more of respondents in every state would support outlawing gestation crates.

Some pork companies are transitioning away from gestation crates

Major pork producers have also begun moving away from this practice. Smithfield Foods (the world's largest pork producer) and Hormel Foods (maker of SPAM, and also a leading pork producer) have announced that their company-owned facilities will be gestation crate-free by 2017, and pork producer Cargill is already 50 percent gestation crate-free at its operations.

Other pork companies, like Tyson Foods and Seaboard Corporation, refuse to acknowledge this important social issue by committing to switch to group housing.