Nestlé Announces Landmark Animal Welfare Policy

Today, Nestlé—the largest food company on the planet—announced that it will implement new policies to improve the treatment of animals. With a global supply chain spanning 90 countries, encompassing a network of thousands of farms, the multi-national corporation will ban the use of veal crates for baby calves, gestation crates for pregnant pigs, and battery cages for egg-laying hens. In addition, it will no longer allow tail docking and dehorning of dairy cattle and the castration of pigs without painkillers. These sweeping changes are taking place after animal-rights organization, Mercy For Animals, exposed undercover footage last year of workers at a Nestlé dairy supplier beating and stabbing cows. Nestlé’s brands include Lean Cuisine, Stouffer’s, and Dreyer’s, and the changes will reduce the suffering of millions of animals every year.