BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Following in the footsteps of several national restaurant chains, The Kellogg Co. on Oct. 29 said it plans to source 100 percent cage-free eggs and eliminate gestation stalls in its US operations by the end of 2025. In addition, Kellogg said it will consider the “Five Freedoms” of animal welfare, an internationally recognized set of humane treatment principles, as part of its process to continuously improve its supply chain in the future.
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| Paul Norman, president, Kellogg North America |
“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 behavior throughout our supply chain,” said Paul Norman, president of Kellogg North America. “Today’s 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 small amount of pork for some of its frozen breakfast sandwiches.
Kellogg said it already has 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 one million more cage-free eggs within its MorningStar Farms brand.
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| Diane Holdorf, chief sustainability officer, Kellogg Co. |
“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 Co. “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.”
Earlier this year McDonald’s said it will fully transition to cage-free eggs for its nearly 16,000 restaurants in the United States and Canada over the next 10 years, and Dunkin’ Donuts is making a move to transition to 100 percent cage-free eggs globally and source only gestation crate-free pork in the United States by 2022.
