World’s Largest Food Service Provider Hatches a Cage-Free Egg Policy

December 17, 2007


	©Compassion Over Killing
	This decision will reduce the suffering of hundreds of thousands of animals.

This holiday season, the world's largest food service provider is providing reason to hope that hundreds of thousands of egg-laying hens will suffer less in the years to come.

Compass Group-North America—a food service company with more than 7,500 clients—announced a major step toward entirely eliminating its use of eggs from caged hens: a cage-free shell egg policy for its U.S. clients.

Annually, the company will replace its use of about 48 million eggs from caged hens with cage-free eggs, reducing the suffering of nearly 200,000 hens who are packed into tiny battery cages where the birds can barely move.

As the movement away from battery cages gains momentum, Compass Group's decision is among the most significant U.S. corporate farm animal initiatives to date.

New Standard for 2008

Cheryl Queen, Compass Group vice president of corporate communications, explained her company's landmark decision: "Compass Group is committed to ending our use of eggs from caged hens. This is a huge undertaking for our company, but we're proud to be making such a significant contribution to the welfare of farm animals."


©Compassion Over Killing
Cruel battery-cage confinement of hens is on its way out.

Compass Group's major new policy is further evidence that one of the worst factory farming abuses is on its way out—and it sets a new standard for the food industry for 2008 and beyond.

With this action by a retail leader, the trajectory on this issue is clear: everyone from Wolfgang Puck to Ben & Jerry's to Burger King, Carl's Jr. and Hardees are moving away from the use of cage eggs.

No Future in Battery Cages

Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS, commented that, "When the largest food-service provider in the world joins the movement away from battery cage eggs, it's clear that this type of intensive confinement has no place in the egg industry's future."

As we move into the new year, it's time for the egg industry to stop resisting the trend and instead to move away from battery cages.

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