Industry caterer and facilities manager ARAMARK has announced plans to eliminate all pork from animals bred using gestation crates for its U.S. operations by 2017. Gestation crates confine breeding pigs 24 hours a day during their four-month pregnancy. (If you don't know what these look like, do a google image search. It's not pretty.) Many farmers, animal scientists, consumers and companies in the food service industry are working to phase out gestation crates and provide more humane breeding. Nine states have also passed laws banning gestation crates, including states Colorado, Ohio and Michigan. To meet its goal, ARAMARK has asked its primary pork suppliers to develop plans for reducing, and then eliminating gestation crates. In addition, it will begin immediately to require new supplier contracts for pork to provide a plan that addresses how they will phase out gestation creates to meet these important goals.