Suzy's Cream Cheesecakes Puts the Chicken Before the Egg

WASHINGTON – Today, The Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection organization, is commending Suzy's Cream Cheesecakes for officially adopting an exclusively cage-free egg policy in its brand name products. The Milwaukee-based baking company uses 48,500 lbs of eggs a year.

Susan L. Strothmann, president of Suzy's Cream Cheesecakes, stated, "Ending the use of eggs from caged hens furthers our commitment to social responsibility. It is exciting to team up with Egg Innovations. As an exclusively cage-free egg provider, they have the resources to help us become the nation's first cheesecake company to use cage-free eggs for our branded products."

All of Suzy's cheesecakes are trans-fat free, and the company also makes desserts using organic whole grain flours.

Suzy's joins a growing number of schools and companies across the country moving away from eggs from caged hens. University of Wisconsin-Madison and more than 100 other schools across the country have enacted policies to eliminate or greatly reduce their use of eggs from caged hens.

U.S. factory farms confine nearly 300 million hens in barren, wire battery cages that are so small, the birds can't spread their wings, walk, or perform many other important behaviors, such as nesting, foraging, perching and dust bathing. Each bird has less space than a single sheet of paper on which to live, leading to extremely high levels of stress and frustration.

Paul Shapiro, Factory Farming Campaign director for The HSUS, commented, "The Humane Society of the United States commends Suzy's Cream Cheesecakes for helping prevent one of the worst factory farm abuses. We encourage other bakeries to follow its example."

Major grocery chains such as Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplace have also stopped selling cage eggs. Trader Joe's has converted its private line eggs to cage-free. Bon Appétit, a major food service company, is phasing out the use of cage eggs in all of its 400 cafés, and Ben & Jerry's is doing the same for its ice creams. Even companies such as AOL and Google have ended the use of cage eggs in their employee cafeterias. And local governments, such the city councils in West Hollywood, Calif. and Takoma Park, Md., have passed resolutions condemning the confinement of laying hens in battery cages and urging consumers of eggs not to buy eggs from caged hens.

-30-

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.