Walmart has committed to transitioning its entire egg supply in Brazil to cage-free eggs by 2028, according to two animal rights organizations.
Mercy for Animals and Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) hailed the decision in blogs on their respective webpages. According to HSUS President and CEO Kitty Block, Walmart has 471 stores in South America’s largest country.
Mercy for Animals’ Kenny Torrella called Walmart’s decision “a huge victory for animals” and said the move was “the result of years of negotiations and campaigning by Mercy for Animals and other organizations in the country.”
Walmart, cage-free eggs and North America
Walmart’s decision affecting its Brazilian egg supply follows an announcement made in 2016 that it would transition to an exclusive cage-free egg supply in the United States and Canada by 2025. Walmart is the largest grocery retailer in the United States.
“Our customers and associates count on Walmart and Sam’s Club to deliver on affordability and quality, while at the same time offering transparency into how their food is grown and raised,” Kathleen McLaughlin, chief sustainability officer at Walmart, stated at the time the North American cage-free egg commitment was made. “Our commitment to transition to a cage-free egg supply chain recognizes that expectation and represents another step we are taking to improve transparency for food we sell in our U.S. stores and clubs.”
However, the demand for cage-produced eggs remains, and at the 2019 Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit, the majority of egg consumers participating in a focus group discussion said they did not regularly purchase eggs that were produced in cage-free laying systems.
It was also estimated recently by Egg Industry Center business analyst Maro Ibarburu that the egg industry will need 223 million more cage-free hens in order to enable companies such as Walmart to meet their cage-free egg commitments by their respective deadlines.
