(New York, NY - January 31, 2023) — Today, the Open Wing Alliance (OWA), an international coalition working to end the abuse of chickens worldwide, released its 2023 Global Manufacturers Ranking Report, revealing which global manufacturers are keeping their promises to animals and which are failing. Several manufacturers, including General Mills, Kraft-Heinz, and Nestlé, are reporting excellent progress toward their cage-free goals. Other manufacturers, including Divella, Havanna, and PepsiCo are neglecting to report their global cage-free egg progress regarding the status of the animal welfare commitments they made. The Report calls on these companies to publicly disclose their global cage-free egg status, proving that when they commit, they mean it.
The manufacturing sector is crucial in the progress of animal welfare, as more than a third of global cage-free egg commitments are made by manufacturing companies. As cage-free legislation takes hold worldwide, producers and corporations are rapidly moving to implement global cage-free egg commitments to respond to consumer demands and protect the welfare of hens. To date, more than 2,400 companies, including 146 of the largest global corporations, have made a cage-free egg commitment.
“The Global Manufacturers Report ranks the companies leading the way by publicly reporting on their global cage-free egg progress and those which are underperforming by failing to be transparent about animal cruelty in their supply chains,” said Ben Gardner, Global Corporate Campaigns Coordinator at OWA. “Customers and stakeholders deserve to know which companies are building trust and improving the lives of egg-laying hens worldwide by following through on their commitments and which are not.”
“Animal welfare is one of our ESG priorities since 2010 and eggs sourcing chain is the most important for us,” said Leonardo Mirone, Sustainable Sourcing Coordination for Barilla. “We are very proud to have reached this great result so early also with the support of our suppliers.”
Why cage-free egg systems?
Over 6 billion hens exist in tiny, cramped cages that prevent them from stretching their wings. Caged systems promote fear, poor bone health, reproductive disease, and stress in egg-laying hens.
The Global Manufacturers Report is available for download here. We encourage stakeholders and the public to review it and hold companies accountable for their commitments to animal welfare. For more information about the OWA, visit OpenWingAlliance.org and follow along with the cage-free movement on Twitter @GlobalCageFree.
Katie Wagner
