A gestation crate, also known as a sow stall, is a 2 metres (6.6 ft) x 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) metal enclosure used in intensive pig farming, in which a female breeding pig (sow) may be kept during pregnancy, and in effect for most of her adult life.

In the European Union, the crates are being phased out by 2013 after four weeks of pregnancy. They are already banned in Sweden and in the UK, and will be banned in Denmark in 2014.

In the US, they have been banned in Florida since 2002, Arizona since 2006 and California since late 2008. They are also being phased out in Maine and Oregon.Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the US, said in January 2007 that it will phase out gestation crates from its 187 piggeries over the next ten years, because of concerns from its customers. In 2009 they stated they would no longer be able to phase them out in 10 years due to recent low sales, but reversed the decision in 2011 after intense pressure from the Humane Society of the United States.

On February 13, 2012, McDonald's Corporation announced it would begin working with suppliers to phase out the use of gestation crates. This comes in response to pressure from the Humane Society of the United States and other animal rights advocates. The plan has already sent shockwaves through the pork industry and will have a major impact on industry-wide procedure. McDonald's purchases around 1% of all pork in the US.

Christopher James "Chris" Christie (born September 6, 1962) is the 55th and current Governor of New Jersey. Upon his election to the governorship in November 2009, Christie became the first Republican to win a statewide election in New Jersey in 12 years. Christie, an attorney, previously served as United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey and as a Morris County, New Jersey Freeholder. In 2011, he considered entering the race for the Republican Presidential nomination but ultimately decided not to run.

Chris Christie was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Sondra A. (née Grasso) and Wilbur James "Bill" Christie, a certified public accountant. Christie is of Scottish, Irish, and Sicilian descent. He was raised in Livingston, graduating from Livingston High School. Christie graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1984 and Seton Hall University School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1987. Christie was admitted to the Bar of the State of New Jersey and the Bar of the United States District Court, District of New Jersey, in December 1987. After being elected the Governor of New Jersey, he was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Rutgers University, the state university of New Jersey, and Monmouth University in 2010.