Bagel Rising Joins Growing Boston Movement Away from one of the Worst Factory Farm Animal Abuses

Bagel Rising is now using cage-free eggs exclusively at all four of its locations. The Humane Society of the United States praised the Allston-based restaurant chain for refusing to use eggs from hens confined in cramped cages. Bagel Rising now joins a snowballing number of other Boston-area institutions in taking this action to reduce animal suffering.

Bagel Rising owner Larry Margulies states, "Bagel Rising is proud of our commitment to social responsibility. Simply by ending our use of eggs from caged hens, we were able to strengthen our commitment to animal welfare and improve the lives of egg-laying hens."

"More and more socially responsible companies like Bagel Rising are joining the national movement away from eggs from caged hens," comments Paul Shapiro, senior director of The HSUS' factory farming campaign. "These Boston area institutions should be applauded for heeding the call of consumers who are increasingly opposed to battery cage cruelty."

Boston-based Boloco has eliminated its use of eggs from caged hens in all 13 of its locations. Newton-based Finagle A Bagel has ended the use of cage eggs in all of its 20 locations. East Walpole-based A Little Something and Canyon Ranch's Lenox location have done the same.

Massachusetts schools including Harvard, Tufts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lesley University, Emmanuel College and Clark University join more than 160 others across the country in enacting policies to eliminate or greatly reduce their use of eggs from caged hens.

And the Cambridge City Council passed a resolution condemning battery cages and encouraging its residents not to purchase eggs from caged hens.

Facts

• U.S. factory farms confine nearly 280 million hens in barren battery cages that are so small, the birds can't even spread their wings. Each bird has less space than a single sheet of paper on which to live.
• There is a snowballing national movement against battery cages. Burger King, Hardee's and Carl's Jr. are beginning to use cage-free eggs. Wolfgang Puck is ending his use of cage eggs. Several grocery chains, including Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplace, have stopped selling cage eggs. Companies such as AOL and Google have ended the use of cage eggs in their employee cafeterias.
• While cage-free does not mean cruelty-free, cage-free hens generally have 250-300 percent more space per bird and are able to engage in more of their natural behaviors than are caged hens. Cage free hens may not be able to go outside, but they are able to walk, spread their wings, and lay their eggs in nests—all behaviors permanently denied to hens confined in battery cages.

Timeline

• December 2007—Compass Group, the world's largest food service provider, implements a cage-free shell egg policy.
• August 2007—Hardee's and Carl's Jr. commit to phasing in the use of cage-free eggs and pork from suppliers that don't use gestation crates.
• August 2007—The HSUS begins a campaign urging Wendy's to stop lagging behind its competitors and to start using cage-free eggs.
• March 2007—Burger King announces that it has started phasing in the use of cage-free eggs in its North American locations.
• March 2007—Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck announces that he will no longer use eggs from caged hens.
• September 2006—Ben & Jerry's announces that it will phase out the use of eggs from caged hens in all its ice creams.
• May 2005—Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplace announce that they have ended sales of eggs from caged hens.
• November 2003—The Better Business Bureau rules that it is misleading to label eggs from battery-caged hens as "Animal Care Certified."
• 2000-2002—McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's require that their meat and egg supplier abide by very modest animal welfare standards.

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization—backed by 10 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty—on the web at humanesociety.org.