Warning Louisiana Broiler Growers: HSUS Targeting You in 2017

by The Politico

Christmas has come early for the Humane Society of the United States. On Wednesday, the food service company Sodexo announced new welfare standards for broiler chickens and other livestock, a day after Panera Bread made a similar pledge. Sodexo says that by 2024 it will stop buying the meat of animals raised in gestation crates and veal crates as well as eggs from caged hens; it will also source chickens that are raised in natural light and given hay bales and switch to a more humane method of slaughter.

In a blog post, Humane Society President and CEO Wayne Pacelle said broiler chicken conditions will be at the "top of the list" in 2017. "The Panera Bread and Sodexo announcements are just a start," he wrote; "and we're gearing up for 2017 to be the year when the fate of the broiler chicken turned dramatically for the better."