Sodexo Inc., one of the largest foodservice companies, has
joined the parade of supermarket and restaurant chains who say they will no
longer buy pork if it comes from sows housed in gestation crates.
As with many others, Sodexo has set a deadline of 2022. There is no mention about its Canadian operations.
Also as with many of the others, the news release came from
the Humane Society of the United States, not from the company.
As part of the procurement process, Sodexo will ask all primary pork
suppliers for its North American operations to provide actionable plans to
phase out gestation crates by 2017; the plans would need to take effect by
2022.
"Creating a more sustainable supply chain that includes best
practices in animal welfare is extremely complex for any business where the
strategic sourcing priority is to serve specific client needs,” the news
release quotes Jim Pazzanese, Sodexo’s vice-president of supply management.
“It is further complicated by the fact that Sodexo is not directly
involved in the care, management or processing of farm animals,” he said.
“Despite these challenges, Sodexo recognizes animal welfare as an
important component for a sustainable supply chain," Pazzanese said.
Since February, other leading food companies, including McDonald’s,
Burger King, Wendy’s, Denny’s, Cracker Barrel, Sonic, Kroger, Safeway and
Compass Group, have announced various moves toward sourcing pork from suppliers
that do not use gestation stalls.
