Aramark, one of the world’s leading food service providers, has announced it will transition to a 100 percent cage-free egg supply chain globally. Aramark, which has operations in 19 countries and purchases more than 300 million eggs annually, will conclude its transition to cage-free eggs by 2025.

Chetana Mirle, director of HSI Farm Animals, said: “We applaud Aramark for committing to a global cage-free egg policy and improving the lives of millions of egg-laying hens.  This is another clear sign that the future of global egg production is cage-free.”

In its statement, Scott Barnhart, Aramark’s senior vice president, Global Supply Chain and Procurement, commented: “We are unwavering in our commitment to work with suppliers and animal welfare organizations to advance responsible sourcing practices across our global supply chain…We are pleased that Aramark’s cage-free egg learnings in the U.S. are being applied to address the remaining portion of our total egg purchases around the world.”

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Egg-laying hens are often confined for their whole lives in wire battery cages so small and crowded with other birds that the animals cannot even fully stretch their wings. The use of conventional battery cages for laying hens is banned or being phased out under laws or regulations throughout the EU, five U.S. states, New Zealand and Bhutan. The majority of states in India, which is the world’s third largest egg producer, have declared that the use of battery cages violates the country’s animal welfare legislation, and the country is debating a national ban.

Today’s announcement follows similar commitments made in 2016 by Sodexo and Compass Group, the world’s largest food service providers, to also switch to a 100 percent cage-free egg supply chain for their global operations. Aramark joins a growing number of companies that have committed to cage-free egg policies worldwide including Alsea, Unilever, Grupo Bimbo, AccorHotels, General Mills and Nestlé. More than 200 food companies – including  McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, and Walmart, have also announced a complete transition to cage-free eggs in their U.S. supply chains.

Media contact: Raul Arce-Contreras, rcontreras@humanesociety.org, +1 301.721.6440