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Following discussions with Mercy For Animals and other groups, Trader Joe’s, one of the nation's most popular grocery chains, announced its commitment to improving
animal welfare in
its U.S. supply chain by switching to 100 percent cage-free eggs. Trader Joe’s says this transition will take place by 2020 in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, and
Colorado and nationally by 2025. While cage-free doesn't mean cruelty-free,
this move will spare countless hens a life of suffering
in tiny wire battery cages and hopefully inspire other food companies to adopt similar policies.Stuffed into cages so small the birds can’t walk, spread their
wings, or engage in other natural behaviors, hens on egg factory farms are
subjected to unspeakable cruelty and neglect. Each bird has less floor space
than the size of a sheet of notebook paper. Many birds become trapped and
painfully mangled in cage wire or under feed trays. Dead hens are often
left to rot alongside birds still laying eggs for human consumption. Battery cages are so cruel they've been banned by California,
Michigan, and the European Union.The new cage-free commitment by Trader
Joe’s follows similar announcements by grocers Costco, Target, and BJ’s Wholesale Club, and nearly 100 restaurants, food manufacturers, and foodservice
companies. McDonald’s, Nestlé, Wendy’s, Tim Hortons, and others also made the switch following MFA campaigns and negotiations.It's high time the rest of the food industry, including Safeway, acknowledged that cramming birds into cages barely larger than
their bodies is cruel and has no place in a civilized society.Tell
Safeway to stop making life hell for hens by ditching cruel cages and adopting a 100 percent cage-free
egg policy with a timeline:
Sign and share the petition
Comment under Safeway's most recent
Facebook post
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Please also consider giving hens a break by leaving
eggs off your plate entirely. Instead, try these 10 delicious egg recipes without the
eggs.
