HSUS Urges Ben and Jerry's to Stop Supporting Cruel Confinement of Egg-Laying Hens

WASHINGTON – Today, The Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal welfare organization with nearly ten million members and constituents, called on ice cream retailer Ben and Jerry's to keep its promise to end its support of one of the most abusive factory farming practices: the intensive confinement of egg-laying hens in small wire battery cages that don't even allow the birds to spread their wings.

The company publicly claims that it opposes factory farming and supports small farmers, while at the same time purchases as many as 30 million eggs from hens confined on massive industrial factory farms, with stacks of battery cages several tiers high and with as many as 150,000 hens in a single barn.  It is the most intensive animal confinement practice in agribusiness today. In communications with The HSUS dating back to November 2005, Ben and Jerry's officials repeatedly pledged to phase out the company's use of eggs from hens confined in battery cages. Yet just last week, Ben and Jerry's reneged on its promises to switch to cage-free eggs in its ice cream.

On its web site, the company criticizes what it calls "giant, industrial farming operations," and it ends one of its commercials with the tag line, "Ben & Jerry's: Join our fight for small family farms."

"The eggs bought by Ben & Jerry's—perhaps as many as 30 million a year—are produced from hens crammed into wire cages where the living space for each animal is smaller than the size of an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. "The fact is, there is a cage-free alternative that is available now, and Ben & Jerry's has no excuses for offering up a pint of pain to tens of thousands of animals."

In June 2006, The HSUS released shocking findings from its undercover investigation at an egg factory farm owned by Michael Foods, an egg supplier to Ben and Jerry's. Despite being confronted with evidence that Michael Foods kept hens in appalling conditions—live hens confined in cages with dead birds, hens trapped in cage wires, sick and injured hens, and hens dying from dehydration and starvation—Ben and Jerry's still continues to use eggs from caged hens in its ice cream.

Although it supports the cruel confinement of hens on factory farms for its U.S. ice cream, Ben & Jerry's has already made the switch to cage-free eggs for its European products. The company wrote in an annual report that "battery cage housing systems don't meet our best case scenario for animal welfare."

Note to editors: Broadcast quality footage of The HSUS's undercover investigation into Michael Foods, a Ben & Jerry's egg supplier, is available upon request.

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with 9.5 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research, equine protection, and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy and field work. The non-profit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. On the web at www.hsus.org.