Oscar Mayer moves away from pork suppliers that use gestation stalls

Kraft Food’s Oscar Mayer brand announced Friday it will work with its pork suppliers to transition from traditional gestation stall housing to pregnant sow housing alternatives by the end of 2022.

While the Oscar Mayer brand does not raise pigs, the plan is to source all pork from suppliers who can provide pregnant sow housing that safely allows for greater movement for the animal, while ensuring their comfort, the brand said in a news release.

“At Oscar Mayer, we believe quality meat begins with quality animal care.  We are committed to finding better ways to keep animals healthy and in a safe environment while treating them with respect,” said Sydney Lindner, associate director, corporate affairs for Oscar Mayer. “This is not only important to us, but also to our consumers who care about animal well-being and comfort.”

The Oscar Mayer brand is working with animal care experts, suppliers and their farm families to find alternatives to traditional gestation stalls that provide quality animal care, consider worker safety, and are adaptable for farm families of all sizes to implement.

Closing ranks

The deli meat giant’s announcement came the same day as fast food giant CKE Restaurants, owner of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurant chains, set a goal of transitioning to acquiring all of its pork from suppliers that use group sow housing instead of gestation stalls by 2022.

Since February, other leading food companies, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Denny’s, Cracker Barrel, Sonic, Kroger and Safeway, have announced various moves toward sourcing pork from suppliers that do not use gestation stalls.