2023 Global Restaurant Report Ranks Restaurants on Animal Welfare
The vast majority of global restaurant brands have promised to eliminate cages from their supply chains by 2025. But which companies are on track to be successful—and which are failing animals and their customers?
Abby Jade Sarfas
The vast majority of global restaurant brands have promised to eliminate cages from their supply chains by 2025. But which companies are on track to be successful—and which are failing animals and their customers?
When surveyed across 14 different nations, three-quarters of people agreed: “The welfare of farmed animals in [my country] is important to me.” As consumer demand for improved animal welfare continues to grow, food brands are following their lead. The vast majority have promised to eliminate cages from their supply chains by the year 2025. Now that their deadlines are approaching fast, the Open Wing Alliance’s new Global Restaurant Report asks: Which companies are following through on their promises? And which are failing animals—along with customers who trusted them?
“The Global Restaurant Report serves as a critical tool for consumers who value animal welfare and wish to make informed decisions about which restaurants they support,” says Hannah Surowinski, Global Corporate Relations Manager, Open Wing Alliance. “Actions speak louder than words. This ranking of companies based on their public reporting of their global cage-free egg progress enables stakeholders to be aware of which companies are following through on their promises and which are not.”
The 2022 study cited above is in line with a growing trend that shows more and more consumers choosing cage-free eggs. To date, over 2,500 major food corporations have announced cage-free egg commitments—including 146 global commitments by some of the largest multinational corporations like KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Papa John’s, Burger King, Popeye’s, Krispy Kreme, Nestlé, Aldi, and Kraft Heinz. These companies promise to stop serving eggs from hens confined to cruel, outdated cages.
Why cage-free?
Caged systems have historically been the norm on factory farms around the globe. In this archaic form of extreme confinement, each bird only has a tiny space the size of an iPad in which to live her entire life. Due to the sharp wire bars, chickens often endure painful injuries that frequently go untreated. Cages are often extremely filthy and cramped due to the intense overcrowding, and eggs from cage systems have been shown to carry a higher risk of salmonella.
Hens have powerful natural instincts to perch, nest, and dust-bathe. Not only do cages suppress these natural behaviors—causing acute psychological distress—but they don’t even allow hens to spread their wings. In short, life in a cage is no life at all.
What is the Global Restaurant Report?
Published by the Open Wing Alliance, a global coalition of 100+ organizations across 72 countries in six continents, the Global Restaurant Report ranks global restaurant chains on the status of their cage-free egg transitions. Several companies, including Starbucks, Famous Brands, Pizza Express, Restaurant Brands International, and Yum! Brands are successfully reporting progress towards their goals.
The report also exposes the companies that aren’t being transparent—holding them accountable to their commitments. The 2023 Report lists Focus Brands, Inspire Brands, Caffè Nero, and Au Bon Pain among brands that are not following through on their promises.
How can I help?
By sending messages to the world’s most powerful companies, changemakers like you are already transforming the landscape of the egg industry—and changing the future for millions of hens. Will you join thousands of activists around the world in demanding that corporations do better for animals?
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