With each cage the size of a filing cabinet drawer, packed with multiple birds, battery cage farms are hell on earth for the innocent hens that lay eggs for A&R/Metro Food Service Corporation. But with A&R/Metro, it doesn't stop with hens. The company source pork from farms where female pigs are trapped in gestation crates: confinement systems that deny them the ability to move more than one step forward or backward, or turn their bodies at all. They are denied access to, and solace from, their own piglets, who suckle from the other side of the steel bars. These outdated agricultural practices are so cruel that they are already illegal in several states in the US. Battery cages are also illegal in the entire European Union.

Over 35 other food service providers have committed to end their use of eggs from battery cage farms; including Delaware North Companies, Legends Hospitality Management, Lancer Hospitality and Thomas Cuisine Management. In addition, multiple food industry giants are completely cutting their ties with farms using gestation crates; including McDonald's, Wendy's, Subway, Oscar Meyer, Costco and Denny's. The top three food service providers in the United States; Aramark, Sodexo and Compass Group, as well as fast food chain Burger King, have developed comprehensive animal welfare policies ending their associations with both battery cages and gestation crates.

But unlike nearly all of it's competitors, A&R/Metro has not yet committed to end its use of eggs and pork from these abhorrent systems; despite a constructive dialogue being opened with the company. Why is it that A&R/Metro has not followed in the footsteps over other food service companies and brought an end to animal cruelty?

Please, sign our petition and let A&R/Metro Food Service Corporation and their clients know that people like you do not want to be supporting this kind of extreme animal cruelty with their dining dollars. It's time for A&R/Metro to do the right thing and join its competitors in the 21st century by pledging to end its support of farms that still use outdated confinement systems and putting a firm timeline in place to make this happen.