Sodexo commits to sourcing only cage-free eggs in global supply chain

[raja ghose]

New Delhi (25 July 2016)– Sodexo, the world’s leading Quality of Life services company with operations in 80 countries, announced today that it will source only cage-free eggs for its global liquid and shell egg supply chain by 2025. Sodexo, which sources approximately a quarter of a billion shell eggs worldwide per year, will partner with Humane Society International and other animal protection organizations, including Compassion in World Farming and The Humane League, to implement this new animal welfare and corporate social responsibility policy. HSI applauds Sodexo for this significant step forward.

N G Jayasimha, managing director of HSI/India, said: “With operations in 80 countries, Sodexo’s new cage-free egg policy will improve the lives of millions of animals around the globe, and also sends a clear message to the egg industry in India and worldwide that the future of egg production is cage-free. Consumers care about the way animals are treated to produce our food and we applaud Sodexo for taking these concerns seriously by committing to only procuring cage-free eggs. We look forward to working with more companies on similar policies.”

Michel Francheschi, Group SVP Supply Management at Sodexo, said: “Our objective is to work collaboratively with our partners to support and contribute to the progressive transformation of the whole industry. We will gather all the actors around the table in order to accompany the conversion and the evolution of the local industry so that by 2025, we will be able to source cage free eggs from local producers in each country where we operate.”

Egg-laying hens are often confined for their whole lives in wire battery cages, so small that they cannot even fully stretch their wings. The use of conventional battery cages for laying hens is banned or being phased out under laws or regulations throughout the EU, five U.S. states, New Zealand and Bhutan. The majority of states in India, the world’s third largest egg producer, have declared that the use of battery cages violates the country’s animal welfare legislation, and the country is debating a national ban.

Sodexo joins a growing number of companies that have also committed to sourcing only cage-free eggs in their global supply chains, including Unilever, Grupo Bimbo and Nestlé. More than 60 food companies - including McDonald’s, Burger King and Walmart, have also announced a complete transition to cage-free eggs in their U.S. supply chains.