Unilever and Nestlé want to phase out caged hens

Food industry giants including Nestlé, Unilever and Mondelēz are calling for a phase-out of caged hens across the European Union.

New legislation is needed

Although progress has been made in recent years to improve welfare standards for laying hens, notably with the European Commission’s 2012 ban on battery-caged eggs, many in the food industry believe more action is needed.

That is why, yesterday, a group of food multinationals made their stance on the issue. In a letter to Members of the European Parliament, Nestlé, Unilever and Mondelēz, among others, stated that they want to phase out the use of caged hens.

“Companies moving away from eggs from caged hens have paved the way for changing how EU farmed animals are kept. Cage-free systems are widespread, economically viable and provide better living conditions for hens,” said the letter, which was also signed by Aldi, Ferrero and Ikea, among others.

Self-regulation

In their plea for a gradual phasing out of cages, the food giants call for support for poultry farmers during this transition. They also want to help reform the industry ‘from within’. For Nestlé, eliminating caged eggs from its supply chain is simply “the right thing to do”. Switching to cage-free eggs is a “central part of our strategy on improving animal welfare“, a spokesperson told FoodNavigator.

A growing number of food labels are committing to eliminating caged eggs from their global supply chains. Unilever, for example, is already cage-free in Europe and has committed to eliminating all caged eggs from its global supply chain by 2025 at the latest.