Tue Sep 26, 2006
CHICAGO, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. said on Tuesday it would gradually move to using eggs from chickens that are not housed in cages.
The decision was made after meetings this year with the Humane Society of the United States, it said.
Because it will take time to line up suppliers of these eggs, the company said, the transition will be phased in over four years.
“Earlier this year, the Humane Society of the United States brought to our attention issues related to the treatment of egg-laying hens,” Rob Michalak, the company’s director of social mission, said in a statement.
“We received substantive input from a variety of experts and resources, all of which helped us to arrive at our decision.”
The Humane Society says housing chickens in cages prevents them from behaving naturally.
“Approximately 95 percent of eggs sold in the United States come from birds confined in barren battery cages,” the Humane Society said in a statement. “So intensively confined, the birds can never engage in many important natural behaviors, including nesting, perching, and walking,”