McDonald's: No More Pork From Gestation Stalls by 2022

McDonald's has firmed up its plans to create a more humane McRib. By 2022, say company officials, McDonald's will no longer buy pork from suppliers who use "gestation crates"—narrow stalls in which breeding sows spend much of their lives. The company—which buys some 1% of all pork produced in the US—says that by 2017, it will only purchase pork from sources that have already begun the process of phasing out the stalls, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Getting rid of the stalls, which are too small to allow the pigs to turn around in, has long been a key demand of animal welfare groups." We wish the company planned to get rid of these crates tomorrow, but we understand the logistical challenges involved in making such significant improvements," said a Humane Society spokesman. Other companies, including Burger King and Wendy's, have announced similar plans. (More McDonald's stories.)