General Mills to Use Cage-Free Eggs 2011-04-25

JULIE GALLAGHER

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — General Mills is joining the ranks of Kraft, Unilever, Sara Lee and Otis Spunkmeyer, with its pledge to source cage-free eggs in the U.S.

After moving all of the eggs in its Haagen-Dazs product line in Europe to cage-free, the company has vowed to source one million eggs from hens that aren't caged.

“Because of General Mills, many animals are going to have a much better life,” Josh Balk, spokesman for The Humane Society of the United States told SN.

The Washington-based non-profit works to convince manufacturers, restaurant chains and grocery stores to make the cage-free switch.

Unilever is the recent adoptee of a policy to convert all of the eggs it sources to cage-free, including 350 million used annually by Hellmann's mayonnaise. It's publicizing the move on packaging, and in ads.

“The food industry is helping push the egg industry away from confining hens in cruel and inhumane cages,” said Balk. Today, 6% to 8% of hens in the U.S. are cage-free, compared to 1% five or six years ago.

Retailers have helped improve those numbers. Last year, Wal-Mart switched 100% of its Great Value eggs to cage-free varieties. Safeway has also established a purchasing preference for cage-free eggs.