Dear Supporter,
Last month we shared that we met with Aldi at their corporate headquarters in Batavia, Illinois. Shortly after the meeting, Aldi issued an update to its online animal welfare policy to say we “expect our suppliers to pursue the elimination of crates for pregnant sows in favor of group housing.”
Read more here: Aldi Expects Suppliers to End 'Inhumane' Living for Pregnant Pigs.
Unfortunately, an “expectation” is much different than a “requirement”. While the policy update is a first step forward, Aldi still continues to permit this cruel practice with no timeline whatsoever to eliminate it.
A growing number of consumers and organizations are now calling on Aldi to require its suppliers to commit to ending the confinement of mother pigs in gestation crates within a binding timeline. Otherwise, suppliers can continue to confine mother pigs indefinitely, without consequence. But so far Aldi has refused to listen, so we need your help to urge Aldi to:
- Set a binding timeline by when all suppliers must provide open housing for mother pigs.
- Make this commitment public and provide annual updates on implementation progress.
- Communicate the updated policy to all of its suppliers.
- Establish a system for auditing suppliers to track progress and monitor compliance.
Here’s how:
- Send an email to: us.customerservice@aldi.us
- Write a letter and mail to: Corporate Buying/Fresh Meat, Aldi USA, 1200 N. Kirk Rd. Batavia, IL 6051
We also suggest posting on Twitter. Write your own or use the tweets below.
- Buying ham from @AldiUSA for the Holidays? Join over 327K other consumers and tell Aldi you want your ham to be #cratefree. https://change.org/cratefreealdi @Change petition. #CrateFreeAldi @cratefreeIL
- Over 327k shoppers have called out @AldiUSA for allowing #animalcruelty in its supply chain. It’s time for Aldi to take a real stand and commit to ending the extreme confinement of mother pigs by its suppliers. https://change.org/cratefreealdi #CrateFreeAldi @cratefreeIL
- Hey @AldiUSA: Please do more for mother pigs. Instead of saying you “expect” your suppliers to stop using #gestationcrates, REQUIRE them to do it & set a timeline. Take a real stand & end this practice in your supply chain. https://change.org/cratefreealdi #CrateFreeAldi @cratefreeIL
Public pressure helped make this first step possible. Now let’s urge Aldi to take the next step and publicly commit to ending the use of gestation crates.
For the Animals,
Crate Free Illinois