Smithfield Foods is backing away from its plan to abandon gestation crates by 2017. The company blames its finances — in the past year, Smithfield has lost $190 million.
But lousy finances or not, gestation crates are rapidly becoming unacceptable to consumers. The next few years are going to be a fascinating time to watch factory farming, since it appears that the industry is going to be caught between rising corn prices and consumers who are increasingly unwilling to tolerate the worst animal abuses. (Thanks, Bea). Link.
