26/07/2016

These are extraordinary times. After many years of lagging behind their competitors, Morrisons have announced they are going cage-free on all their eggs.

We have been listening hard to our customers about eggs from caged hens. Today we are making our commitment that by 2025 all our eggs will be from non-caged hens.

Morrisons, Facebook - 25 July 2016

The news follows recent cage-free commitments from Aldi, Iceland and, of course, the seismic announcement from Tesco.  The companies have set a target date of getting rid of caged eggs altogether by 2025 latest. Whilst the timeline is longer than I would like, all of us at Compassion very much welcome the pledge to dump cages in favour of humane, free range and barn ways of keeping hens.

This flurry of cage-free commitments follows a spectacular domino effect of similar announcements by leading supermarkets and other food companies in the US. The top 25 food companies in the States have agreed to stop selling or using caged eggs. Through Compassion’s US office, we have been working with our friends at the Humane Society of the US (HSUS), Mercy for Animals, The Humane League and others to help bring about these changes. Compassion’s focus has been particularly on major companies like McDonalds, Walmart and Trader Joes.

The latest announcements in the UK by Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi and Iceland are hugely welcome. They join Sainsbury’s, Co-op, Waitrose and M&S, companies who have long banished battery eggs from their shelves and been recognised by our Good Egg Award scheme for their leadership.

Through our corporate engagement work in the UK, US and across Europe, we work with over 700 food companies, encouraging them to make the next compassionate commitment, be it cage-free eggs, pasture-based dairy, or crate-free pigs.

These remarkable moves we have witnessed over recent days show how things have changed, how companies are increasingly willing to embrace animal welfare. 

This dramatic shift in corporate consciousness is the culmination of many years of public campaigning, corporate engagement and tireless work behind the scenes. It has been a huge team effort, with a range of animal protection organisations playing their part and outstanding citizen’s initiatives, not least that recently by Lucy Gavaghan.

Perhaps most pivotal has been your support; in writing to your supermarket, buying free range eggs and generally giving voice to compassionate consumerism everywhere.

Today, there is one supermarket company in particular who really needs to hear your voice.

Please join us in calling on Asda to commit to going cage-free on eggs.  Please sign and share our online petition. Why not join me in tweeting Asda direct (@asda), asking them to dump battery eggs for good.

Or write directly to their CEO, Sean Clarke at sean.clarke@asda.co.uk whose address can be found below:

Sean Clarke, Asda Stores Limited, Asda House, South Bank, Great Wilson Street, Leeds, LS11 5AD

Whatever you do, thank you for being the voice of farm animals.

Thank you for helping bring closer the dawning of the day when caged eggs on the high street will be history.