Report: Cage-Free Eggs Becoming the Norm

Egg producers and others in the supply chain are mostly fulfilling their pledges to free hens from cages, according to a report from a monitoring organization.

The Open Wing Alliance, which identifies itself as “a global coalition of organizations working to free hens from cages,” says in a fulfillment report that “88% of cage-free commitments with deadlines of 2021 or earlier have been fulfilled.”

The report broke down fulfillment by segment of the egg supply chain. Among manufacturers, it was even higher: 92%, or 231 of 250 surveyed.

The fulfillment totals were undoubtedly helped by laws in California and other states mandating that eggs sold there must be from cage-free hens – no matter where the hens lay them. Those laws have been the subject of controversy and efforts at delaying their effective date.

The Open Wing Alliance report notes that cage-free compliance has been accelerating over time and says, “Companies that are not using cage-free eggs, that have no commitment to do so, or that have fallen behind on their commitment, are in the minority.”