One of the world’s largest restaurant groups, Restaurant Brands International (RBI), which owns leading foreign brands such as Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons, has published a global policy to abandon caged eggs. The commitment was announced 44 days after the Open Wing Alliance, an association of more than 80 animal welfare organizations, launched a public public campaign. In Latvia, this association is represented by the association “Animal Freedom”.
The policy announced by the RBI stipulates the commitment of each brand to completely phase out caged hen eggs and their products worldwide. This decision also affects “Burger King” restaurants in Latvia – the first of them was opened this week. The transition will end in 2025 in 92% of the RBI market (North America, Western Europe, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand). The remaining 8% market share will be lifted by 2030 at the latest. The Group undertakes to publish annual progress reports to ensure compliance with the deadline.
The public campaign that led to the implementation of the RBI’s new global policy lasted 44 days. Thousands of animal rights activists around the world took part in online activities, one of which was on the social network Twitter, which sent more than 24,000 tweets to RBI brands in one day. More than 270,000 signatures were collected for the petition. The international campaign was led by organizations from the Open Wing Alliance, which aims to improve the welfare of chickens on industrial farms.
“This policy, which comes from one of the largest and most influential restaurant groups, will help ensure that the abandonment of cages becomes the new standard in the global restaurant industry,” said Alexandria Beck, director of the Open Wing Alliance.
In the current RBI supply chain, eggs are obtained on farms where chickens are imprisoned in small, dirty cages. These cages are so small and crowded that chickens are unable to do anything that is important to them. Often parts of the chicken’s body get caught in cage grates, causing bone fractures, deformities and severe hair loss. Some of the chickens, when they are tired or unable to move, are crushed to death by the other chickens in the cage.
“We are really pleased that the RBI has improved its animal welfare policy just a few days after the opening of the first Burger King restaurant in Latvia. We think it will encourage other local companies not to hesitate to make such a statement – if a giant like the RBI able, then everyone can do it! ” says Animal Freedom spokeswoman Paula Cukura.
More and more companies in various large industries around the world are abandoning cages, and consumer demand for eggs laid out of cages is also growing rapidly. Many of the world’s largest companies, including Unilever, Nestle, Aldi, InterContinental Hotels, Sodexo, Mondelez, Compass Group, Barilla and Orkla, have made commitments to move away from cages.
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