Georgetown University Launches a Cage-Free Egg Policy

WASHINGTON—Today, the nation's largest animal protection organization announced another success in the effort to end one of the most abusive practices in animal agribusiness. Georgetown University is ending its use of eggs from caged birds, a move that The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) praised as an important step for animal welfare.

Georgetown's Dining Services has agreed to eliminate the use of eggs from caged birds from its student resident dining facilities. The school's dining halls and convenience stores currently use approximately 1.5 million eggs per year.

"Georgetown University is deeply concerned about animal welfare and consequently is proud of our switch to cage-free eggs," says Michael Basile, director of food and beverage for Georgetown University.

Georgetown joins a growing list of schools refusing to use eggs from caged birds. Dozens of schools have enacted policies to eliminate or greatly reduce the use of eggs from caged hens, including Marist College, Vassar College, University of Rochester, George Washington University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of New Hampshire, and American University.

The HSUS provided Georgetown with information about a "Certified Humane" cage-free egg producer. "Georgetown has taken a positive step for animal welfare by ending its use of eggs from caged birds," commented Paul Shapiro, factory farming campaign manager for The HSUS. "We applaud Georgetown's efforts to reduce animal suffering, and we encourage other schools to follow its example."

Just in the past several months, several major grocery chains such as Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Jimbo's Naturally, and Earth Fare eliminated their sales of battery cage eggs. Trader Joe's announced that the company is converting all of its brand eggs to cage-free. And food service provider Bon Appétit began phasing in exclusively cage-free eggs for all of its 190 cafés.

In the United States, approximately 95 percent of eggs sold come from hens confined in barren "battery cages," wire enclosures so small the birds can't even spread their wings or engage in many other natural behaviors, such as nesting, foraging, perching, and dust bathing. The cages are stacked one on top of another inside huge warehouses on factory farms. Each bird is afforded less space than a single sheet of paper on which to live, leading to extremely high levels of stress and frustration.

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 and equine protection, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research, 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 hsus.org.

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