Caitlin Campbell
The largest egg purchaser in Japan committed to reduce the suffering of millions of hens worldwide.
Thanks to the compassion shown by changemakers around the world, influential Japanese mayonnaise company Kewpie Corporation took a significant step closer to a future where millions of hens are freed from cages.
Kewpie published a more comprehensive cage-free egg policy—which is a considerable, as Kewpie is the world’s second-highest egg user in emerging markets, and also a former vocal advocate for sourcing eggs from caged hens.
Hens in caged systems live in spaces so small they can’t even spread their wings. Without the space to engage in their natural behaviors, they become distressed. Caged hens are also susceptible to osteoporosis, and other diseases. Their suffering is unconscionable, and has been recognized globally with legislative bans on the production and sale of eggs from caged hens, and corporate cage-free policies.
This progress for the animals was hard-fought: Over five years ago, the Open Wing Alliance (OWA) and other global organizations were key in encouraging Kewpie to go 100% cage-free in its US operations by 2025. Kewpie honored its US commitment in 2022—three years ahead of schedule. But no animal should have to endure life in a cage, especially as companies around the world are honoring their animal welfare commitments. The OWA reached out to the company again in late 2023, and Kewpie expanded its 100% cage-free commitment to include its European operations.
But while hens in Kewpie’s US and European supply chains had these important welfare protections, hens in its Asia supply chain did not. As 62% of the world’s caged hens live in Asia, any progress in the region would be impactful for animal welfare. And after a few months of sustained campaign pressure from the OWA and over 47,000 consumers around the world, Kewpie committed to making progress for egg-laying hens in its major market in Asia, and also reaffirmed its commitment to fulfilling its cage-free egg policy in Europe.
Kewpie’s new commitment will help increase the cage-free egg supply where it’s needed most and reduce the use of cruel cages to confine hens. Within the next few years, the company will provide an updated increased cage-free usage goal for 2030, support and promote domestic cage-free production, and possibly turn to impact incentives in markets with availability challenges (by doing so, companies can offset their use of eggs from caged hens by purchasing cage-free credits that go toward supporting cage-free production elsewhere).
This victory goes beyond Kewpie’s supply chains. It’s another strong indicator that sparing animals from extreme cruelty is a global fight, as going cage-free is becoming the global standard. As consumers and companies increasingly turn away from supporting animal abuse, we can continue creating a kinder world for farmed animals.
