Chris Liptrot
Another win for the animals.
After months of dialogue with The Humane League and other animal protection groups, leading franchiser of quick service restaurants Dunkin' Brands has responded with a timeline for eliminating the cruel practice of restricting egg-laying hens to cages in its supply chains.
By 2025, the company's more than 8,000 US Dunkin' Donuts locations and more than 2,500 US Baskin Robbins locations will no longer source eggs from hens forced to spend their shortened lives in so-called "battery cages." This change is expected to affect approximately 1.4 million animals in the US with Dunkin' Brands pledging to seek alternatives globally as well.
Why a Dunkin' commitment to animal welfare matters
This commitment is especially groundbreaking because it affects Dunkin' Donuts's most popular menu items: the egg-focused breakfast dishes that have helped the chain to become the nation's seventh largest restaurant by annual food sales. Headquartered in Massachusetts, Dunkin' Donuts is the third largest US restaurant chain by locations. McDonald's, the second largest US restaurant chain by locations, has already committed to end its sourcing of eggs from hens confined to cages.
This is what Dunkin' is committing to
Earlier this year, the company initially committed to converting 10% of its eggs used in breakfast sandwiches to those produced by hens not confined to cruel cages by 2016, as well as eliminating gestation crates from its supply chain by 2022.
After a few months of dialogue with THL, Dunkin' Brands quickly updated its plan to be more comprehensive, avoiding a public campaign by our network of grassroots advocates that would draw negative attention to the cruel practice by which its eggs are produced.
We're making progress
Grupo Bimbo, Royal Caribbean, Dunkin' Donuts—more and more companies are making commitments that spare millions of animals suffering. With your help, we're leveraging this momentum to completely end this outdated practice.
