(Photo © Jared C. Benedict) This photo shows the Ben & Jerry's Factory in Waterbury, Vermont in 2004. Ben and Jerry's joins other socially responsible institutions that have eliminated or are phasing out their use of battery cage eggs. (This photo is lucensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.)
New Cage-Free Egg Policy for Ben & Jerry's
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SEPTEMBER 27, 2006
By Press Release

Tuesday, The Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection organization with 9.8 million members and constituents, praised Ben & Jerry's for its decision to adopt an exclusively cage-free policy for the eggs used in its ice cream. After discussions with The HSUS, Ben & Jerry's has chosen to phase out the use of eggs from hens confined in tiny battery cages where each bird has less than the space of a single sheet of paper.
The Vermont-based frozen dessert company will phase in the exclusive use of cage-free eggs over a four-year period. Ben & Jerry's has also pledged that all of its cage-free eggs will only come from sources that meet the animal care standards of Humane Farm Animal Care, an independent farm animal welfare certifying organization..
"I speak for all of us at Ben & Jerry's to say how pleased we are to announce this transition to the use of exclusively cage-free eggs," noted Walt Freese, CEO of the company.
"Ben & Jerry's is putting the chicken before the egg and making a dramatic improvement in its animal welfare policies by committing to exclusively purchase eggs from producers who do not confine hens in battery cages – one of the most inhumane practices in modern agribusiness, " said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. "We applaud the company for its decision and encourage its competitors to follow its lead."
Approximately 95 percent of eggs sold in the United States come from birds confined in barren battery cages so cramped that the birds can't even spread their wings. So intensively confined, the birds can never engage in many important natural behaviors, including nesting, perching and walking.
Ben and Jerry's joins other socially responsible institutions that have eliminated or are phasing out their use of battery cage eggs, including nearly 100 U.S. schools, principally major universities. Retailers such as Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplace have eliminated their sales of battery cage eggs, and Trader Joe's has converted all of its brand eggs to cage-free. Food service provider Bon Appétit is phasing out the use of eggs from caged hens in all of its 400 cafés. Even companies such as AOL and Google are ending the use of eggs from caged hens in their employee cafeterias.
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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with more than 9.8 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, marine mammals, animals in research, equine protection and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy and field work. The nonprofit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. On the web at www.hsus.org.