For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s CAFO’s vs. Free Range page.

Millions of breeding pigs are trapped in crates so small that they can’t even turn around-
for virtually their entire lives. It is an extreme type of confinement that has been in use for decades, but a growing number of consumers and businesses want to end this inhumane practice.

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – Papa John’s (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the latest in a string of companies to announce a ban on the use of cruel gestation crates in their supply chain. Used by factory farms, these crates keep millions of mother pigs in such extreme confinement that they cannot even turn around for virtually their entire lives. “Due to the duration and severity of their confinement, these pigs’ suffering is among the worst of all factory-farmed animals,” according to the Humane Society of the United States.

But the tide is turning, as consumers are becoming more aware of where their food comes from and companies are responding. With their announcement last month, Papa John’s, the third largest take-out and delivery pizza restaurant chain in the United States behind Pizza Hut (NYSE: YUM) and Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ), joins other major food companies that have announced similar bans, like Tim Horton’s (NYSE: THI), McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), Burger King (NYSE: BKW) and Wendy’s (NASDAQ: WEN).

I had a chance to talk with Kristie Middleton, Food Policy Manager at the Humane Society of the United States, about Papa John’s decision and the future of these inhumane confinement crates.