February 23, 2010
Wal-Mart’s Great Value eggs will switch to cage-free varieties, prompting The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to withdraw a shareholder resolution it submitted to the mass merchandiser last November asking it to report on its cage-free progress, according to Media-Newswire.com.
"By ensuring that all of its private label eggs are cage-free, Wal-Mart is helping the egg industry move away from battery cage confinement of laying hens," said Paul Shapiro, senior director of The HSUS' factory farming campaign. "Wal-Mart's move is a positive one, and we hope its competitors follow suit."
Many supermarket chains already offer cage-free eggs, including Harris Teeter, Winn-Dixie, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Safeway. National restaurant such as Burger King, Wendy's, Denny's, Red Robin, Quiznos, Sonic, Hardee's and Carl's Jr. are also using cage-free eggs, according to reports.
U.S. factory farms confine about 280 million hens in battery cages that are so small they can't spread their wings, according to the report. Cage-free hens generally have two to three times more space per bird than caged hens.