Compass Group, the world’s largest foodservice provider, announced it will cease using gestation crates for pigs in its U.S. food supply by the summer of 2023.
As part of a detailed report on animal welfare, Compass stated it will “transition to, at minimum, group housed pork (pigs crated 5-7 days) by Summer 2023 with our priority being to source gestation crate free pork. We will continue to provide updates as we make further progress.”
Compass’ brands include Bon Appétit, Canteen, Restaurant Associates, and Wolfgang Puck Catering. It runs dining operations at more than 10,000 schools, colleges, hospitals and other spaces, and purchase tens of millions of pounds of pork annually.
Compass originally announced it would end using gestation crate suppliers in 2012, with 2017 being the original conclusion to such purchases. Compass stated that “industry-wide supply chain challenges” delayed its policy, and the Animal Equity advocacy group launched protests this year to pressure Compass.
Following Compass’ new announcement, Animal Equity released a statement praising the “groundbreaking animal welfare policy” from the foodservice company.
