SÃO PAULO—Casa Santa Luzia, a traditional high-end supermarket in the city of São Paulo, announced it will sell exclusively cage-free eggs by 2023.

This commitment comes after many years of working with Humane Society International and other animal protection organizations. HSI will continue to work with the company in Brazil during the implementation of this policy.

Ianê Almeida, animal welfare specialist for HSI Farm Animals in Brazil, said: “We congratulate Casa Santa Luzia for adopting a full 100% cage-free egg commitment, and we look forward to continuing to work with the company and its egg suppliers on the implementation of this policy. This decision sends a clear message to the egg industry that the future of egg production is cage-free in Brazil.”

This commitment will improve the lives of thousands of egg-laying hens. Egg-laying hens in Brazil are typically confined for their whole lives in wire cages so small that they cannot even fully stretch their wings. Cage-free production systems typically offer hens higher levels of welfare, allowing the birds to express more of their natural behavior, including ground scratching and pecking, laying their eggs in nests, perching and fully spreading their wings. HSI works together with the food industry in Brazil and worldwide to help ensure a successful transition to these higher animal welfare production systems through farm tours, technical workshops on cage-free systems and the exchange of best practices.

Casa Santa Luzia joins the growing list of supermarkets in Brazil, including the four largest, that have committed to selling exclusively cage-free eggs in the country: Carrefour, Walmart (Grupo Big), GPA and Cencosud.

ENDS

Media contact: Ianê Almeida: ialmeida@hsi.org