Hormel Foods is dedicated to doing things the right way in every aspect of our business. That includes our animal stewardship practices. To maintain our high standards, we have developed the following principles to guide our animal care and handling procedures.

• All farms will provide a balanced and nutritious diet, plus water.
• A safe and humane environment will be provided for every animal throughout its life, including minimization of stress, management of social needs and control of environmental conditions.
• Every facility will be properly maintained with the animals’ well-being in mind, including appropriate facilities and space, and the utilization of compassionate, stress-reducing techniques during handling.
• Animals will be provided with appropriate preventive and, if necessary, medical care, including veterinary oversight and the identification of prompt treatment of sick animals. When medically necessary, we use antibiotics responsibly.
• We will follow clearly documented humane procedures in the event an animal needs to be euthanized.

We have developed industry-leading standards in conjunction with animal care experts, including renowned authorities on humane animal husbandry. These veterinarians and animal experts help us to create a blueprint that ensures every animal is raised in a healthy environment and treated with care, respect and compassion throughout its entire life. Our network of family farm suppliers understands and shares these values.

Hormel Foods has a zero-tolerance policy toward the mistreatment of animals through abuse or neglect. We have strict requirements related to animal care, which are overseen by veterinarians, third-party experts and a team of animal welfare professionals at Hormel Foods.

In addition to these principles, we have more requirements for hogs and turkeys. Our Applegate (Bridgewater, N.J.) subsidiary has additional animal care requirements as well. Applegate works with third-party certifiers like Global Animal Partnership^® and Certified Humane^® to ensure animals are raised and handled in ways that honor the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare. Applegate requires its suppliers to meet third-party certified animal welfare standards.