Monica Wooters Khan
A Crumbl store opening in Portland exposes the company’s outdated sourcing practices.
Free cookies were passed out at Crumbl’s store opening in Portland last week—but the treats weren’t a gift from Crumbl.
They were from protesters advocating for the protection of factory-farmed animals—specifically, egg-laying hens forced to live out their lives in battery cages. As these free cookies were made with animal-friendly ingredients, they were at odds with Crumbl’s, and its support of extreme animal cruelty in its supply chain. (At times, these cookies even stopped customers from going inside to purchase a Crumbl cookie.)
Crumbl’s lack of a cage-free policy makes it a conspicuous outlier in 2024, as companies across sectors are prioritizing higher welfare standards in their global supply chains. Cage-free corporate commitments are a critical protection: hens confined in battery cages suffer from physical and mental ailments, as they are trapped in a space so small they can’t even spread their wings. These corporate commitments—and eventual fulfillments—are a major step toward ending the abuse of animals raised for food worldwide.
Oregon businesses must be cage-free according to state law, so while the Portland store is compliant, the animal advocates made it clear to both staff and customers that they were asking for a national cage-free policy. Because Crumbl corporate headquarters still refuses to acknowledge over 85,000 consumers asking for meaningful change, the advocates escalated into leveraging the influence of individual stores—and plan to continue doing so across the country until Crumbl makes progress for suffering animals.
To learn more about the campaign, visit CrumblCruelty.com and take action.
