WattAgNett: Petition urges Starbucks to use cage-free eggs exclusively

Animal rights group Humane Watch targets coffeehouse chain, demanding it to stop using eggs from caged hens
Release Date: 2014-10-17
Animal rights group Humane Watch is urging Starbucks to stop using eggs from caged hens in the breakfast foods the chain sells. The organization has placed a petition on the website change.org, with the petition having already gathered tens of thousands of signatures.

Calling using cages to house layer hens an “outdated agricultural practice,” Humane Watch in its petition urges Starbucks to join other companies in phasing out caged eggs.

“When the public, animal welfare experts, and environmental protection agencies are demanding an end to battery cages, there is no reason for your company to remain on the wrong side of history,” the group stated in its petition.

It also challenges the company to live up to its claims that it supports animal welfare programs and cage-free farms.

Starbucks, on its website, offers the following statement concerning animal welfare: “Just as with our coffee, Starbucks goal is for our food to be produced under the highest quality and ethical standards. One way we hope to help accomplish this is by establishing a buying preference that encourages our suppliers in North America to use animal welfare-friendly practices and provide ingredients such as cage-free eggs, gestation crate-free pork, and poultry processed through more humane systems such as CAK. This supports our efforts to work with suppliers who share our values and have a commitment to social and environmental responsibility.”