Ben Gardner
Top food manufacturers like Barilla, Kraft Heinz, and Danone are leading the way on animal welfare, while corporations like Kellogg’s and Pepsico are falling short. Read more in our new report.
As more people around the world demand higher welfare standards, thousands of forward-thinking companies are responding in kind by eliminating the worst forms of confinement from their supply chains.
Cages subject egg-laying hens to a level of cruelty that consumers are increasingly refusing to support. Through pressure from advocates around the world and dialogue with the Open Wing Alliance (OWA), a global coalition of animal protection organizations, more than 2,400 companies have published animal welfare policies to remove cruel cages from their supply chains. The majority of these companies have completely fulfilled—or are proactively reporting progress towards---their commitments, and more than 140 companies have committed to go cage-free across their entire global supply chains.
The future is cage-free—particularly as companies not only announce decisions to eliminate intensive confinement, but follow through with regular and transparent progress reports along the way.
However, a handful of companies are reneging on their promises to customers and animals alike. The Open Wing Alliance's new Global Manufacturers Report, reveals which global food manufacturers are making progress towards fulfilling their commitments to animals, and which are falling behind.
What are cage-free eggs?
Roughly 7.5 billion hens lay hundreds of billions of eggs each year, supplying not only restaurants, supermarkets, and hotels around the globe, but also food manufacturing facilities, which produce pantry staples like pasta, mayonnaise, cookies, and more. The majority of these hens live in battery cages. These chickens endure overcrowding and confinement in dusty barns, squeezed into cages where as many as ten chickens live in a space the size of a cabinet drawer, leaving space no bigger than the surface of an iPad for each hen to have to herself.
By contrast, hens who live in open indoor enclosures, where they have access to enough space to stand up straight without hitting another bird or the walls of the cage, produce "cage-free eggs." While cage-free hens remain confined to windowless sheds, their housing represents a meaningful improvement over cages, which suppress the animals' natural instincts to stretch their wings, perch, nest, and dust-bathe. Caged systems also promote aggression, stress, and osteoporosis and other diseases.
Which food manufacturers are moving towards cage-free eggs?
Cage-free eggs are fast becoming an industry standard. Over one-third of all global commitments to eliminate cages belong to manufacturing companies alone, demonstrating the significant role that manufacturers have to play in advancing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) priorities like animal welfare.
16 global manufacturers are lighting the path forward on eliminating the intense confinement of hens in their supply chains. These trailblazers include industry heavyweights like Barilla, Lindt & Sprungli, and Danone, which are already exclusively sourcing cage-free eggs.
As Leonardo Mirone, Sustainable Sourcing Coordination for Barilla, shared, animal welfare in particular has been an "ESG priority since 2010." According to Barilla, the "eggs sourcing chain is the most important for us. We are very proud to have reached this great result so early also with the support of our suppliers."
Manufacturers like Unilever, McCain, Hershey, General Mills, and Kraft-Heinz are also working with their suppliers to source 100% cage-free eggs, and transparently keeping consumers informed through consistent progress reports and updates.
Which food manufacturers are not moving towards cage-free eggs?
A number of manufacturers are refusing to engage in dialogue or share progress towards eliminating cages from their supply chains. Despite having committed to ending their use of cages, these corporations are failing to follow through on their promises to consumers and animals. These companies are underperforming:
- Rians
- Colombina
- Cepêra
- McCormick
- Jeff De Bruges
- Grupo Bimbo
- Pierre Herme
- Igreca
- Havanna
- Reina
- Jacquet Brossard
- PepsiCo
- Kellogg
- Cerealto Siro
- Divella
While some of these companies have made limited progress in specific regions, without comprehensive reporting, stakeholders and customers have no way of trusting that the company is prioritizing transparency, accountability, and animal welfare.
What you can do
Consumers can call on corporations to free hens from one of the cruelest forms of confinement. There’s a paradigm shift unfolding, and cages are soon to be part of the past. It’s time to move on. Join us in urging companies to follow through on their commitments to end the worst abuses animals face in our food system.
