Humane Society International (HSI) reported that SaladStop!, Asia’s leading healthy food chain, has pledged to go cage free by 2025. This pledge will apply to all egg products at every SaladStop! location.
“Our motto ‘Eat Wide Awake’ means taking into consideration the environment, animal welfare and the food chain when sourcing our ingredients. We hope to be one of the catalysts in changing the food system for the better and support a new breed of farms committed to positive change,” Katherine Braha, director of SaladStop!, told HSI.
Grand Hyatt Singapore and Andaz Singapore also announced their commitment to switch to100-percent cage-free eggs (shell and liquid) by 2025 or earlier. Both locations have already met their commitment to 100 percent cage-free shell eggs.
“We are proud to support the use of higher animal welfare products as we continue to pursue our commitment towards conscious eating by using quality-driven sustainable ingredients, and we believe this will appeal to diners who are increasingly becoming aware of responsible food choices,” Chef Lucas Glanville, director of Culinary Operations for Grand Hyatt Singapore & South East Asia, told HSI.
According to HSI, other companies that have also committed to this cage-free egg initiative in Asia include The Lo & Behold Group, AccorHotels, Sodexo, Compass Group and Unilever, among others.
Egg trends in the US
Cage-free egg trends continue to change in the U.S., too.
Blue Apron recently changed their animal welfare policies. One-hundred percent of the company’s fresh eggs come from pasture-raised laying hens, the company recently stated.
California voters will decide on a measure that would eliminate the use of cages for hens laying eggs that are produced or sold in California, after enough signatures were obtained to put the measure on the statewide ballot. According to a press release from California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, the initiative became eligible to be on the ballot for November 6, 2018.
Other states are also considering similar production practices.
In March 2018, U.S. cage-free eggs were about 20 cents an egg, or US$2.40 a dozen, compared to conventional eggs that were about 12 cents each, or US$1.44 a dozen.
