May 9, 2012

Safeway to endorse buying policies on pigs' welfare

Purchasing policies that favour more humane treatment of pigs will be adopted by Safeway, the nation's second-largest grocery chain.

Safeway Inc. announced Monday that it's planning to stop buying from suppliers that use pig gestation crates.

Most pork currently comes from sows confined during their four-month pregnancies in narrow crates. Animal welfare activists have pushed for using open pens.

Other corporations such as McDonald's and Burger King also plan to buy pork from pigs not kept in crates. The Humane Society of the US has been working with the industry to improve welfare of caged chickens and pigs.