NEW DELHI
Global food giant Heinz announced animal
welfare improvements in its sustainable sourcing policy. The company,
which had already pledged to work with its suppliers globally to find
solutions to reduce the use of battery cages, now committed to ensure
that 20 percent of its eggs are cage free by the end of 2015 in its
North American operations. Heinz’s move is a result of discussions with
The Humane Society of the United States – the parent organization of
Humane Society International.
N.G. Jayasimha, managing director of HSI-India said: “We applaud
Heinz’s commitment to phasing out the most extreme forms of confinement
in animal agribusiness from its supply chain in North America. We hope
to see Heinz and other industry leaders take similar steps to improve
animal welfare within their supply chains in India.”
Besides working to phase out the use of battery cages—small, wire
enclosures used to confine egg laying hens—for egg production, Heinz's
sustainable sourcing policy also aims to improve pig welfare. In 2012
the company announced a commitment to end the use of gestation crates.
The lifelong confinement of egg-laying hens in barren battery cages
and pregnant sows in gestation crates severely impairs the animals’
welfare, as they are unable to exercise, fully extend their limbs, or
engage in many important natural behaviors. As a result of the severe
restriction within these barren housing systems, animals can experience
significant and prolonged physical and psychological assaults.
In India approximately 200 million laying hens spend their lives confined in battery cages.
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