Going Where No Food Service Company Has Dared to Go Before
Posted by Bonnie Azab Powell on February 21, 2012in Featured, Humane meat, Meat, News - 13 Comments
Today — and not for the first time — Bon Appétit Management Company is making history in the food service industry.
Aaron Miller of Miller Livestock in Ohio, a Bon Appétit Farm to Fork partner and the first Food Alliance-certified livestock farm in Ohio. Photo by Sarah Piper/BAMCO Foundation
In a joint announcement with The Humane Society of the United States, we are vowing to stop serving all pork produced using the cruel and inhumane practice of gestation crates and all eggs, including “liquid” ones (those removed from their shells), from hens confined to battery cages by 2015.
This is the next step on the path we’ve been on since 2003, when we said ‘no’ to antibiotics in feed or water for chicken (and later, turkey). Two years after that, we vowed that our hamburgers had to come from cows not given antibiotics routinely or growth hormones ever and that all of our shell eggs had to be Certified Humane.
We serve more than 3 million pounds of pork (including 800,000 pounds of bacon alone) and 1.75 million pounds of liquid eggs, the equivalent of about 11 million shell eggs. Finding more humane sources for those items is not going to be easy: “The products we need aren’t produced in the quantities we need,” my colleague Helene York, director of strategic sourcing and research, writes in a guest post today for Civil Eats. So why are we doing it? “We’re convinced of one thing: the best chance for change is to stop waiting for everyone else to make the first move.”
We are not only raising the minimum standards for what we will buy; we are also making a commitment that by 2015, at least 25 percent of all our meat, poultry, and eggs will meet the highest animal welfare standards, as verified by the independent third parties Animal Welfare Approved, Food Alliance, Humane Farm Animal Care, or Global Animal Partnership. These four groups don’t just ban gestation crates and battery cages, they prohibit routine antibiotics and all hormones, and reward producers for allowing animals to engage in their natural behaviors.
“Today’s announcement by Bon Appétit is yet another benchmark for others in the food service sector to strive to reach,” writes Wayne Pacelle, President of The Humane Society, in a blog post today. “The company is demonstrating that being socially responsible is not a bromide or a slogan, but an operational principle.”
Indeed it is. That’s why we’ve set defined deadlines and defined goals. As Bon Appétit CEO Fedele Bauccio said angrily to me last week, when I asked what would happen if we couldn’t locate enough humane pork suppliers by 2015 to meet our supply needs: “Then we’ll menu differently — we’ll serve more turkey sandwiches! I’m not waiting for these guys anymore.”
Read more:
- “Bon Appetit announces animal welfare reforms,” Tim Carman, Washington Post
- “Beyond porkwashing: Food service company commits to humane meat,” Twilight Greenaway, Grist.org
- “Bon Appetit cafes to forgo pigs housed in cramped cages,” Tiffany Hsu, LA Times
13 Comments
Beyond porkwashing: Food service company commits to humane meat | Grist
[...] it’s refreshing to see that Bon Appétit Management Company (BAMCO) has promised to phase out pork produced in gestation crates, do away with all eggs from confined hens, and [...]
Major food service company goes humane | Humaneitarian.org
[...] suspects there isn’t enough supply of these products to meet their demand, as they say in this press release. But they’re going forward anyway, and will hopefully take other food service companies along [...]
Earl Williams
It is too bad that Bon Appetite listens to HSUS without talking to people that have actually raise hogs.
When I was a pork producer, I housed my sows (mother pigs) in outside pens, which is the only realistic alternative to individual gestation crates. “Boss Hog” is a real life term that describes what happens when one sow bullies the rest of the sows in the pen. Those hogs on the bottom of the social ladder were bullied, beaten up, and sometimes died as a result of their treatment by the boss hog. Is that more humane than gestation crates that protect those animals and ensures that each sow get individual attention and care?
Major food service company to go humane | Humaneitarian.org
[...] suspects there isn’t enough supply of these products to meet their demand, as they say in this press release. But they’re going forward anyway, and will hopefully take other food service companies along [...]
bonappetit
Hi Earl: Thanks for stopping by. But we do talk to hog farmers all the time — we buy from not just the MIllers, above, but from dozens of small farmers around the country in our Farm to Fork program. We also talked to large producers before we made this announcement. We believe firmly that there is a middle ground between gestation crates and Boss Hog Bullying.
Lindsay
I agree with Earl!
Fantastic move, quite a few cages and restaurants in NZ and Australia have been doing this with success, it’s well received and people don’t begrudge the extra cost as it tastes better and is more Eco friendly.
So what’s the middle ground to ensure the safety of the sows? As someone who spends their time working with farm animals everyday, I work to ensure each and everyone of them gets the best care possible. I’ve never been on a farm that puts in the animal’s health and well-being is in danger. I’ve spent many hours listening to animal scientists and other animal behaviorists including Temple Grandin and use the information that they give us to make our farms better. Those experts advocate the use of gestation crates. Hopefully, you will continue to support smaller farmers like myself, but will never be able to get a certification by one of your third party auditors, because we follow the top experts in the fields of animal care and not the random rules by what they feel is good management.
Josh
Dr. Temple Grandin is clear on her view on gestation crates stating “gestation stalls have got to go” and saying that confining pigs in these crates is like forcing someone to live “in an airline seat.” Dr. Grandin is certainly one of the most outspoken opponents of gestation crates and is even quoted in McDonald’s press release praising the company for eliminating these crates in their supply chain.
I think most people within agriculture agree that we’re seeing an end to the gestation crate. Before 2002, no states banned gestation crates. Since then, eight states have banned gestation crates including large pork producing states like Colorado, Michigan, and Ohio. Before 2002, no major food companies have made policies opposed to gestation crates. Since then, top restaurant and grocery store chains in the country have issued purchasing preferences for producers who don’t use gestation crates or demanded crates be eliminated from their supply chain. Before 2002, no major pork producer had any plans to move away from gestation crates. Since then, major pork manufacturers Smithfield, Hormel, Cargill, and Maxwell Farms have developed policies to move away from crates. I think the writing is on the wall on this issue.
Congratulations to Bon Appetit for speeding up the process to ensure momma pigs have a better life. Keep up your great work!
[...] the company said, it will stop serving all pork produced using the cruel and inhumane practice of gestation crates [...]
Kerry
Thank you for being responsible!
Mimi
Thank you for being responsible and setting a positive example!
Thank you for caring and putting your clout behind these issues.