Tuesday, November 14, 2023

DuBreton meets sow housing challenge


 

DuBreton of Quebec is already complying with upcoming housing standards contained in controversial Proposition 12 enacted into California law.


The California move has international implications because any pork that seeks a market in California needs to comply. It’s also challenging for a company to segregate pork into lots that do and do not comply with the requirement that sows each have 24 square feet of space.


Du Breton specializes in producing pork that meets a variety of standards such as organic, humane animal treatment and welfare and GAP-5, which is a way to measure how well a product or service meets five customer expectations.


Kudos to the Ontario team, led by veterinarian Marty Misener, who made the investments and put in the effort to gain a market with DuBreton. Many of the participants are Amish and Old Order Mennonites.


In the United States, the pork industry is still fighting the measure. 


Leaders for the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) have said they will continue to push back on state-level efforts such as California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3, which goes further than the California version.


NPPC has been supportive of the EATS ACT, which seeks to prohibit states and localities from regulating agricultural practices and enacting animal welfare protections.