Farm Animals
Hilton: No Room at the Inn for Cages

I’m excited to announce today that Hilton Worldwide is going to switch to buying exclusively cage-free eggs and gestation crate-free pork after working with The HSUS. This is another major step forward in our efforts to eliminate cage confinement for laying hens and mother pigs. . . .
Animal Welfare is Brewin’ at Dunkin’ Donuts

I’m excited to share with you another big step away from the cruelty of cage confinement of hens. Dunkin’ Donuts, one of the world’s top fast-food chains, is exploring the feasibility of transitioning to cage-free eggs globally for use in all of its food products. . . .
Major Companies Showing the Way on Animal Protection

In addressing issues ranging from the humane treatment of animals raised for food to curbing the trade in shark fins to moving away from puppy mills and toward shelter pet adoption, Nestlé, Starbucks, Target, Jet Airways, and Alsip Home & Nursery are the winners in . . .
World’s Largest Food Service Provider Goes Cage-Free – Capping Series of Reforms From Biggest Names in Sector

Compass Group makes it a trifecta. Today, Compass Group, the world’s largest food service company, announced that it will switch all of its liquid eggs to cage-free for the entire U.S. market. The volume of product in play is extraordinary: 300 million liquid eggs. That will . . .
Breaking News: Aramark Goes All-In on Cage-Free, Marking More Progress for Hens

Aramark is the largest U.S.-based food service company, running dining operations at thousands of locations across the country, including healthcare institutions, universities and school districts, stadiums and arenas, and businesses. Today, I’m proud the company is announcing that it will switch all 20 million pounds . . .
The March Toward Moral Progress for Animals

King Midas is remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched to gold. Rick Berman, the public relations operative who’s been hired by corporate interests to perpetuate animal cruelty, coal-fired power plants, and mercury in fish, amongst other ignoble causes, seems to . . .
No Cowspiracy Here: Pioneering Environmentalist Promotes Meat Reduction in New Book

Earth Day founder Denis Hayes and wife Gail Boyer Hayes have taken a surprising intellectual and historical journey with cows. Their new book COWED: The Hidden Impact of 93 Million Cows on America’s Health, Economy, Politics, Culture and Environment, is also a meditation on our . . .
USDA Report Misses the MARC

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a disappointing report today about the federally-funded, Nebraska-based U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC), which was the focus of a searing and infuriating New York Times investigative piece by Michael Moss published just over a month ago. The Times . . .
Big Ag Getting Its Hen House in Order – Cages and All

Soon, a group composed of many conventional thinkers in the food and agribusiness industries, calling itself the “Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply,” is expected to release a report on various forms of housing egg-laying hens—including cramming them into barren cages so small they can’t even . . .
Cutting Through the Nonsense on Tail-Cutting

A couple of years ago I visited perhaps the largest dairy farm in the United States – Fair Oaks Farm in northwest Indiana, which at the time had 36,000 cows, divided into 3,000 cows per pod. Expecting to be pretty horrified by the operation, I was . . .
Is Industrialized Agriculture a House of Cards?

I’m so grateful to House of Cards actress Kate Mara for her continuing work with The HSUS, including her recent video to promote Meatless Monday for animals and for our health. Mara is a big deal in Washington, D.C. because of her starring role during . . .
Meat Industry Gripes, as Grip on U.S. Dietary Guidelines Loosens

The federal government’s dietary guidelines have a stilted history. When I was growing up, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) promoted the Basic Four Food Groups as the construct of the ideal diet, with meat and dairy constituting half of the food groups and fruits . . .