Tim Hortons To Phase Out Gestation Crates

Ontario-based company Tim Hortons is joining the likes of McDonald's and Cargill by vowing to get rid of gestation crates in 10 years. "We consulted with our suppliers, the pork industry, and other stakeholders on the use of gestation stalls for breeding sows and reviewed their plans throughout 2012. By 2022, we will source pork from suppliers who have made a transition to alternative open housing," the company said in a statement to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

Furthermore, the company plans to work with the industry and government to decrease the use of gestation crates across the board. "Tim Hortons is doing tremendous work not only eliminating gestation crates in the supply chain, but also working with the government to eliminate gestation crates throughout Canada," Josh Balk, director of corporate policy at HSUS told The Daily Meal on the phone. "[Like] Bon Appetit Management Company, who has endorsed many measures that would ban gestation crates across the country."

Tim Hortons has 4,000 restaurant outposts in Canada and the United States; other brands who have denounced the crates include Oscar Mayer, Burger King, Wendy's, Costco, Safeway, and Kroger.

According to Balk, two out of three of the top pork suppliers in Canada have already announced plans to phase out gestation crates, while in the United States the only major food producer that has yet to jump the bandwagon is Tyson Foods.