Chartwells Hatches a Cage-Free Egg Policy

The Humane Society of the United States Praises Food Service Provider for Implementing New Policy

WASHINGTON - The Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection organization, praised Chartwells today for implementing a policy that will significantly improve the welfare of egg-laying hens. The food service provider is implementing an exclusively cage-free whole shell egg policy for its colleges and universities in the Northeast region.

Rye Brook, New York-based Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services will be implementing the policy for the 37 schools it serves in the Northeast, including Bard College, Purchase College, Trinity College, Northeastern University, Quinnipiac University, University of Albany and Stony Brook University.

"Chartwells is deeply committed to sustainability, and our students have made it clear that animal welfare is an important concern for them. This cage-free egg policy is an important step toward demonstrating our commitment to opposing the inhumane treatment of hens confined in cages," stated Holly J. Hart, director of Marketing and Communications for Chartwells Higher Education Division.

Additionally, several other schools outside the Northeast region that are served by Chartwells have recently enacted cage-free shell egg policies, including: Marywood University – Scranton, Pa, Wagner College – Staten Island, N.Y., Washington College – Chestertown, Md., DePaul University – Chicago, Ill., St. Louis University – St. Louis, Mo., San Francisco State University - San Francisco, Calif., Duke University – Durham, N.C., and Covenant College – Lookout Mountain, Ga.

"Chartwells' decision is an important advance in the growing movement away from battery cage confinement in the egg industry," commented Paul Shapiro, Factory Farming Campaign director for The HSUS. "Chartwells should be applauded for helping to improve the welfare of thousands of birds—as well as sending a strong message to the egg industry to end its confinement of hens in cages."

Chartwells is in good company: a growing number of companies, schools, and even local governments have joined a snowballing national movement against the cruel confinement of egg-laying hens inside tiny cages.

Facts

• U.S. factory farms confine nearly 300 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. The European Union has banned barren battery cages, effective 2012.
• Wolfgang Puck is ending the use of cage eggs. Burger King is beginning to moving away from cage eggs. Several grocery chains, including Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplace, have also stopped selling cage eggs. Bon Appétit, another food service company, is phasing out the use of cage eggs in all of its 400 cafés, and even companies such as AOL and Google have ended the use of cage eggs in their employee cafeterias. And local municipalities in Maryland, California and Florida have publicly condemned battery cage confinement and urged their residents not to buy eggs from caged hens.
• Schools served by Chartwells join more than 100 others, such as Yale, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Vassar and University of Wisconsin-Madison, in implementing policies to eliminate or greatly reduce their use of cage eggs.

Timeline

• March 2007—Burger King announces that it has started phasing in the use of cage-free eggs.
• March 2007—Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck announces that he will no longer use eggs from caged hens.
• March 2007—New Port Richey, Fla., unanimously passes a bill condemning battery cages and encouraging egg consumers not to purchase eggs from caged hens.
• January 2007—West Hollywood, Calif., unanimously passes a bill condemning battery cages and encouraging egg consumers not to purchase eggs from caged hens.
• October 2006—Takoma Park, Md., unanimously passes a bill condemning battery cages and encouraging egg consumers not to purchase 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 2006—Google implements an exclusively cage-free egg policy for its employee dining facilities.
• November 2005—Trader Joe's announces that its brand eggs will be exclusively cage-free.
• October 2005—Bon Appetit Management Company announces that it is phasing out the use of eggs from caged hens in all of its 400 cafés.
• 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."

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About Chartwells:

Chartwells, a division of Charlotte, NC-based Compass Group, provides dining services for over 225 public and private colleges and universities nationwide. For more information about Chartwells, visit www.eatlearnlive.com.

About The Humane Society of the United States:

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 www.humanesociety.org.