
Companies go cage-free
From caged to cage-free
The confinement and housing conditions for a majority of egg-laying hens is brutal. Most hens spend their entire lives in a dark room in a tiny wire cage that only allows each hen little more than an iPad’s worth of space to move around in. In these barren battery cages, hens never escape their surroundings. They are unable to perform any of their natural behaviors, such as the desire to find a secluded spot to nest and lay their eggs. But positive changes are happening. Big companies have listened to consumer demands to improve the welfare of egg-laying hens by switching to cage-free eggs. It is important to note however that while cage-free doesn’t mean cruelty-free, it is a vast improvement over the current industry standard.
Over 200 companies have pledged to eliminate battery cages from their U.S. supply chains. Of these many companies making the pledge, one of the world’s largest food corporations, Unilever, announced on January 23rd 2017 that it has fulfilled its pledge to go exclusively cage-free for eggs in Hellmann’s and Best Food mayonnaise products – three years ahead of schedule! This achievement has officially set the standard for other large companies to not only fulfill their promise to make more ethical food choices, but to do so sooner rather than later. Other major corporations that have taken the pledge to become cage-free include Walmart and McDonald’s.
These major corporations’ decisions have urged others to follow suite, but not without a push from the public. Studies have shown that US consumers are becoming more concerned about animal welfare and take it into account when making their food purchases. In 2016, a survey by Lake Research Partners found that 77% of the American consumers surveyed were concerned about the welfare of farm animals. They also found that 78% of participants wanted stores to have welfare-certified eggs, meat, and dairy products available. Of this 78%, 67% of participants said they would purchase welfare-certified products over non-certified ones, even if the welfare-certified products were at higher prices. This greater concern and consciousness for how animals are treated has sent an important message to businesses and their response thus far has been to keep their customers happy.
When more customers request a change for cage-free solutions, they motivate suppliers to switch to cage-free egg production facilities. FOUR PAWS knows that making a complete switch to cage-free eggs will not happen overnight, but it can definitely happen in stages. FOUR PAWS considers a company’s intention to change their policies and strive towards more humane animal welfare policies to be an incredibly important part of that process.
At the same time, FOUR PAWS believes companies must stay transparent and true to their word in their commitments. Compassion in World Farming, whose prime focus is to end factory farming, believes this as well and has created a tool called Eggtrack that helps consumers stay on top of company progress towards their 100% cage-free goals.
FOUR PAWS encourages people to continue to make their voices heard and raise awareness of the issue; your passion for the cause has urged companies to hold themselves accountable for their goals and can continue to encourage companies, such as Unilever, to do so ahead of schedule. It's also important to show companies support for their positive decisions when making your purchases and continue to spread awareness of the issues involving egg-laying hens!
Companies/organizations making the switch to cage-free eggs by 2025:
7 Eleven
Ahold (Stop & Shop)
Albertsons Companies
Aldi
Alex Lee
Applebees
Aramark
Bashas’
BILO
BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse
BJ’s Wholesale Club
BLOOMIN’ BRANDS
Bob Evans
BONEFISH GRILL
Boston Pizza
Brinker International
Brookshire’s food and pharmacy
Burger King
Campbell’s
Carl’s Jr.
Carnival
CARRABBA’S Italian Grill
Chili’s
Conagra Foods
CVS Health
Delhaize
DOLLAR GENERAL
DOLLAR TREE
Dunkin Donuts
FAIRWAY
FAMILY DOLLAR
Fleming’s
Flowers Foods
The Fresh Grocer
Gemperle Family Farms
General Mills
Giant Eagle
Grupo BIMBO
Hardee’s
Harveys
HEB
HMS Host
Ingles
Jack in the box
Kellogg’s
King Kullen
KINGS (shell and liquid eggs)
Kraft Heinz
Kroger
Loblaws
Lowe’s
Maggiano’s Little Italy
Market 32
McDonalds
Meijer
Metro
Mondelez International (in Europe)
MTY
Norwegian Cruise Line
OUTBACK Steakhouse
PepsiCo (Global Egg Procurement)
P.F. Chang’s
Price Chopper
Price Rite
Quiznos
Royal Caribbean
Ruby Tuesday
Sam’s Club
SAVE MART SUPERMARKETS
Shoney’s
ShopRite
Smart & Final
Snyder’s Lance
Sobeys
Sonic
Southeastern Grocers
SpartanNash
Sprouts Farmers Market
S&R Fresh Eggs
Stater Bros. Market
Subway
SuperValu
Taco John’s
Target
TGI Friday’s
TOPS Friendly Markets
Trader Joe’s
Tim Hortons
Wakefern Food Corp
Walgreens
Walmart U.S.
Wegmans
White Castle
WinCo Foods
Winn Dixie
Woodman’s Markets
Companies/organizations making the switch to cage-free eggs by 2030:
Chick-fil-A
Cracker Barrel
Denny’s
Golden Corral Buffet & Grill
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
Krystal
Publix
Weis