Executives at pasta giant Barilla recently made a surprising announcement: The company will ban animal testing throughout its operations immediately, and plans to require members of its supply chain to do the same.

“We believe, big time, that this is the right commitment,” says Luca Virginio, chief communication officer of Barilla. “Animal testing is absolutely against the way we interpret our role in the society.”

But that begs a bigger question: Since when do food companies worry about animal testing?

The answer: Probably more than you think. While animal testing is widely understood to be present in industries like cosmetics and chemicals, its presence in food is less obvious. And that even goes for the leaders of the companies that use it. Take Barilla, whose