Calgary Co-op members voted in favour of buying the co-operative’s egg and pork from suppliers who use animal welfare systems at their annual meeting March 13.
The original resolution asked that within three years the store should buy only from suppliers who do not use battery cages for laying hens or gestation stalls for sows. After lively debate, the resolution was changed to five years to give suppliers time to change their barns.
The proposal was presented by local food activists Clinton Robertson and Paul Hughes, who argued enough local suppliers could be found until wider changes are made.
Read Also
Alberta Crop Report: Rains in the south, dryness in the north
Rain fell onto the southern half of Alberta last week, while hot and dry conditions persisted in the northern half, according to the province’s crop report released on July 18.
“If you put it out there in a three year time frame the supply would be there,” said Robertson.
“It may be difficult for these big industrial farms to make their numbers work to do it in this time period, but I think traditional operators could,” he said.
Others in favour of the motion cited the need to promote ethical food production as part of the overall co-operative philosophy but others, including representatives from the pork and egg sectors, suggested the transition could be costly, especially for the hog industry where producers are losing about $35 per head.
“Our industry is already changing,” said Susan Gal, head of Egg Farmers of Alberta, which represents about 150 producers.
The producer group passed a resolution at its annual meeting two weeks ago to start phasing out battery cages.
“There is no right system for our hens. There are several options and the best ones to make those decisions are our farmers,” she said.
Calgary Coop is the largest retail co-operative in North America and had $1.1 billion in sales for the 2012 fiscal year.
