Media Alert: Aramark’s decided to go all-out humane in the course of providing their food services. It’s a shining new policy of kindness and caring, with one caveat — its restricted to those of cloven hoof and their be-feathered friends: pigs, calves, chickens, ducks and geese.
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word humane is an 18th century derivative of, somewhat obviously, the word human. The two words were previously interchangeable until that pivotal point in history known as the Age of Enlightenment, when humane took on a loftier meaning. But, in the case of the nascent 21st century corporate breed of “person”, that nuanced context appears to be limited to livestock.
While Democracy Tree fully supports the ethical treatment of animals, Aramark’s claim to the moral high ground here is more than disingenuous based on their not so estimable treatment of actual humans.
Yes, in a dodgy PR maneuver, Aramark’s CEO recently boasted:
“Our commitments to health, wellness and sustainability are core to our mission of enriching and nourishing lives and include our pledge to responsible purchasing and animal welfare practices. The broad reach of our supply chain provides an opportunity for us to have a significant impact on animal welfare issues and to shift purchasing practices that impact the clients, consumers and communities we serve.”
Specifically, Aramark pledges to phase-in certain livestock protections:
- Purchasing only cage-free eggs by 2020
- Eliminating all pork from animals bred using gestation crates by 2017
- Since 2011, eliminated the purchase of all foie gras
As a morsel of additional irony, the company intends to build regulatory oversight clauses into the process of negotiating contracts with its food suppliers. Aramark’s own contractual agreements with both the Michigan and Ohio Departments of Corrections have been a tale riddled with gross breaches and punitive measures, leading both states to threaten cutting their ties with the troubled vendor.
This certainly i
s good news for animal rights activists, along with the chickens and pigs themselves who will now be afforded some level of dignity in their truncated lives — at least marginally above the “cruel and unusual punishment” level. It speaks little of the private food vendor’s commitment to the 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, nor that of those government officials who continue to do business with the company.