Grocer and merchandise retailer Target made a formal commitment to source 100% cage-free eggs by 2025 in all its stores in its updated Food and Animal Welfare Commitments statement.
At the end of 2021, 57% of Target’s shell egg sales and 100% of its liquid egg sales across its 1,934 locations came from cage-free sources after stocking them for a number of years.
The company says that pending available supply, it plans to be 75-80% cage free by the end of 2022, 80-85% cage free by the end of 2023, 85-90% cage free by the end of 2024 and 100% cage free by the end of 2025.
The company states it will abide by the United Egg Producers (UEP) cage-free guidelines. Additionally, Target committed to reporting on its sourcing progress in its annual Environmental, Social and Governance Report.
Cage-free commitments have come a long way
Hundreds of businesses in the U.S., including restaurants, food processors, foodservice companies, grocery retailers, hospitality companies and distributors, pledged to go 100% cage free several years ago.
There has been a lot of uncertainty as to whether producers would be able to meet these commitments and some industry experts are still calling the cage-free transition financially and logistically impossible, due to the number of hens and investment needed to meet pledges and state housing laws.
While grocery stores have been heavily questioned concerning their commitments due to the volume of cage-free eggs they would need, many of the U.S. grocery stores that made pledges are still on target to meet them.
For example, grocers that made 100% cage-free commitments in 2016 that are still on track to meet them include: Publix with a goal of 2026, Bashas’ Supermarket with a goal of 2025, Raley’s with a goal of 2025, Kroger with a goal of 2025 and Delhaize America with a goal of 2025.
Some grocers have already met their cage-free goals, for example Sprouts Farmers Market, which announced that it would be 100% cage-free by 2022.
