Consumer trends are inexorable and today many retail chains, food companies, hotels and restaurants declare that they are moving away from the use of cage eggs. However, we cannot forget that ultimately this decision will affect all of our wallets.
The gradual decline in the importance of cage breeding for laying hens is a fact. According to data obtained courtesy of prof. Monika Michalczuk from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, between 2018 and 2021, the percentage of hens kept in a cage system decreased in our country from 84.5%. up to 76.2 percent It is estimated that currently it is even lower and amounts to approximately 72%. This is still much more than the EU average: according to the mentioned data, in 2022 in EU countries only 40 percent Laying hens were kept in cages when this rate was over 10% higher just five years earlier.
We can talk for a long time about the advisability of moving away from cage breeding of laying hens. Due to the activities of all kinds of pro-animal activists, this breeding system is perceived as cruel and causing unnecessary suffering to animals. This is what the “Open Cages” organization writes about the idea of cage breeding of laying hens:
“Chickens in cages are kept in huge crowds – each hen has an area slightly larger than an A4 sheet of paper. Limited space does not allow them to move freely or stretch their wings. Cage breeding does not provide hens with appropriate conditions to perform their natural behaviors. “The hens cannot freely build nests, perch, take sand baths or search for food in the litter.”
The truth is different
– The currently used guidelines regarding the conditions for keeping chickens are based on EU law, and these regulations, in turn, result from a number of scientific analyses. Meanwhile, pro-animal organizations are usually based not on scientific arguments, but on their own beliefs, which creates a false image of this type of production – says Dariusz Goszczyński, president of the management board of the National Poultry Council – Chamber of Commerce.
As the expert adds, several years ago, welfare regulations in the breeding of laying hens were tightened, which forced farmers to replace cages with the so-called enriched cages, providing animals with, among other things, increased living space. Of course, this was at the expense of breeders, for whom replacing cages was a colossal expense. Today, breeders are under pressure to change the production system again.
Pro-ecological communities also do not take into account the fact that alternative breeding systems to cages are not necessarily associated with higher welfare. An example of this is free-range farming, where animals are exposed to unfavorable environmental conditions. They not only worsen the welfare itself, but also the health of the herd, which is reflected in increased mortality and greater use of antibiotics.
We will all pay for this
As the president of KRD-IG emphasizes, one should be aware that abandoning the cage system will affect not only egg producers, but also consumers:
– The rising cost of egg production will have to translate into higher prices. Organizations lobbying for the abandonment of cage farming must therefore speak openly about this fact and take responsibility for the price increase. As a side note, it is worth mentioning that in the era of inflation in Western Europe, eggs from cage farming are becoming more and more sought after – they are clearly cheaper than eggs from other farming systems. For example, recently the production of organic products has decreased by 15% in France and by 20% in Germany. – says the president of KRD-IG in an interview with Farmer.pl.
Import from Ukraine without inspection
According to the expert, it is also worth talking about other consequences of moving away from cages, such as the impact of production on the environment.
– As an industry, we are subject to constant pressure from pro-ecological groups, but there is no mention of the fact that moving away from cages is automatically associated with a larger carbon footprint of production – explains Goszczyński.
Another contradiction is the virtually unlimited import of eggs from Ukraine. While there is constant pressure on domestic breeders to increase welfare, raw materials produced without any control regarding not only the breeding system, but also other production standards, such as environmental impact or antibiotic use, freely enter our market.
These companies have moved away from cage eggs
Regardless of the doubts raised above, the trend of abandoning cage eggs is a fact and we have been observing it for some time now. The list of companies that have already moved away from cage eggs is very long. The main ones that stand out are chains of large-format stores, restaurants and hotels. And so the eggs of the “three” have already disappeared from stores such as Netto (2021), Makro (2022), Żabka (2022), Biedronka (2022) and Kaufland (2022). Some chains have also abandoned or declared their departure from own-brand products based on cage eggs.
Many retail chains have also stopped using triple eggs. It is worth mentioning, among others, giants such as McDonald’s (2021), KFC (2021), Pizza Hut (2021), or Burger King (2021), but also smaller establishments such as Subway (2015) or BP Polska (2019). Since 2020, cage eggs have not been used by the Strarbucks and Costa Coffee chains.
Apart from the catering sector, it is worth mentioning that such well-known hotel chains as Hilton, Marriot International and Qubus Hotel also submitted a declaration of abandonment of cage farming.
The changes also affected companies from the food processing sector, including such giants as Danone (2019), Unilever (2010), Nestle (2021), the Colian group (2019), Frosta (2019), Lindt (2020), Bahlsen (2021). , Ferrero (2014), Dr. Oetker (2016), or Maspex (2021). A number of other entities (including Mondelez International, Dan Cake, Fabryka Cukiernicza Kopernik, and PepsiCo) have declared to abandon the use of cage eggs by 2025.
In total, according to information from the “Open Cages” association, over 150 entities have declared that they will abandon cage eggs by the end of 2025, of which nearly 60 do not use this type of raw material now.
As Dariusz Goszczyński emphasized in our conversation, it is the consumer himself who should decide which eggs he wants to buy. If he chooses raw material produced outside the cage system, breeders will have to offer it to him. However, when looking at prices on the store shelf, it is worth being aware that their increase is, among other things, the result of decisions such as moving away from cage breeding.
