WorldPoultry: Kellogg’s to source 100% cage-free eggs by 2025

Nov 2, 2015
US food producer, Kellogg Company has announced plans to build on its commitment to animal welfare by sourcing only cage-free eggs for its foods and eliminating gestation stalls from its pork supply chain by the end of 2025.

In addition, Kellogg will consider the "Five Freedoms" of animal welfare, an internationally recognised set of humane treatment principles, as part of its process to continuously improve its supply chain in the future.

"Influencing responsible behaviour"

"Even though we are a grains-based company and use very few animal products in our foods, we understand that we have a role to play in influencing responsible behaviour throughout our supply chain," said Paul Norman, president, Kellogg North America. "This announcement allows us to lead positive change in a way we know gives consumers more of what they want from brands and companies -- a strong focus on social responsibility."

Kellogg uses eggs in some of its foods, including Eggo frozen breakfast foods and MorningStar Farms frozen veggie foods brands. The company also purchases a very small amount of pork for some of its frozen breakfast sandwiches.

Reduced caged-hen egg use

Kellogg has already reduced its use of eggs from caged hens in MorningStar Farms products by 20 million eggs since 2007, and by the end of 2016, the company has committed to switch 1 million more cage-free eggs within its MorningStar Farms brand. This announcement, which applies to its US operations, takes those promises 1 step further with the move to 100% cage-free eggs.

"We are proud of the progress we've made to date as we've sourced an increasing number of cage-free eggs," said Diane Holdorf, chief sustainability officer at Kellogg Company. "While we hope these transitions come sooner than 2025, we understand that the development of alternative housing methods takes time and are committed to working with our suppliers to establish the appropriate path forward."