Alexandria Beck
Marking a major milestone for the global movement to protect animals from abuse, over 100 companies have made commitments to go cage-free throughout their global supply chains. As a result, millions of hens will finally have a chance to spread their wings.
Today, we’re celebrating an incredible achievement for chickens worldwide. Over 100 companies have committed to ending the worst abuses against egg-laying hens in every country where they operate across the globe. From fast-food conglomerates to supermarket giants to hotel chains, these multinational corporations have promised to stop using cruel cages—proving that the movement to end the abuse of animals is showing no signs of slowing down.
With over 100 global cage-free policies now in place to end cruel confinement practices on factory farms, you have so much to celebrate. Five years ago, we couldn’t have dreamed of making this much progress for hens. After all, it’s standard practice in the egg industry to confine these inquisitive beings to “battery cages”—filthy wire cages less than the size of a single sheet of printer paper. Trapped in these cramped prisons, hens twist their legs in the mesh flooring and lose their feathers as they chafe their wings against the metal bars that enclose them. Unable to walk around or even stand at their full height, these sensitive birds are condemned to a life of sheer misery. And on top of the traumas they endure in strict confinement, these hens lay hundreds of eggs every year, their bodies pushed far beyond what’s natural in order to serve a corporation’s bottom line.
But activists across the globe teamed up and spoke out against this cruelty. As a result, a cage-free future is coming for chickens in the US and worldwide.
Securing 100 global cage-free policies in just five years is nothing short of momentous. Thanks to advocates like you who signed petitions, shared posts on social media, emailed decision-makers, made donations, organized demonstrations, and showed up at protests, 100 companies have now committed to phasing out battery cages in every country where they do business. Over 2,100 companies around the world have issued cage-free policies—and now, thanks to you, more than 100 of these policies are set to improve the lives of hens not just in corporations’ national supply chains but in their global supply chains.
The Open Wing Alliance (OWA)—a global coalition of advocates—supported these far-reaching efforts to end the abuse of chickens in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Initiated by The Humane League in 2016, the OWA has united 78 organizations from 63 countries to eliminate the use of battery cages, one cage-free policy at a time. Because people around the world took the time to take action for animals, the shift away from cages isn’t just happening—it’s accelerating. The progress is real, and the momentum is unstoppable.
100 global corporate policies means cage-free eggs will one day be the norm on restaurant menus and supermarket shelves. 100 global corporate policies means some countries—such as Serbia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Russia—have made their first-ever commitments to go cage-free. 100 global corporate policies means state, regional, and federal laws against confinement are far more likely to get passed. And 100 global corporate policies means we’ve made it to a historic turning point that compassionate consumers like you made possible.
Since the founding of the OWA, progress for animals has come a long way. As long as these corporations hold true to their word, millions of egg-laying hens across the globe will get to open their wings, free from the confines of cruel battery cages. This is the power of a global movement.
Join us in calling on even more companies to commit to doing better for animals by signing up for the OWA Action App. Through petitions, emails, social media comments, and even phone calls, you can remind multinational corporations like Yum! Brands that it doesn’t have any excuses not to go cage-free. As the owner of Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell, and Habit Burger, Yum! is the largest restaurant company in the world—which means a cage-free policy from its leaders would impact millions of hens and further solidify cage-free eggs as the new global standard.
