On February 21, Bon Appétit Management Company announced a ground-breaking new Animal Welfare Policy. As part of the new policy, Bon Appétit is:
- Requiring that all pork it serves — currently 3 million pounds annually — be produced without gestation crate confinement systems, using higher-welfare group housing systems instead.
- Switching all of its pre-cracked (liquid) eggs — currently 11 million eggs annually — from hens confined in barren battery cages to hens living in cage-free farms, as it already does for shell eggs.
- Entirely eliminating foie gras (livers of force-fed ducks) and veal from calves confined in crates from its menus.
- Ramping up efforts to seek out the most responsible meat, poultry and egg producers — those who have received at least one of the four highest animal-welfare certifications.
All of these important reforms will be phased in by 2015. The company will also continue to offer and promote vegetarian options daily as part of its Low Carbon Diet initiative, which was introduced in 2007.
The entire press release can be found on the Bon Appétit website.