In 2007, Costco — the second-largest grocery retailer in the USA — made a public commitment to eliminate cage confinement of chickens from its supply chain. Eight years later, you would think things would have changed for the better. But they haven’t.
The egg cartons sold at Costco portray happy hens in green fields. But a recent undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States at a Costco egg supplier, which is also an Eggland’s Best LLC franchise, found:
- Chickens crammed into tiny cages, with each bird living on less space than an iPad for their entire lives.
- Egg-laying hens living in cages with decaying corpses of their dead cage-mates.
Does this sound like progress to you?
You can see the undercover video footage of the cruel conditions for yourself here:
Celebrities Are Speaking Out Against Animal Cruelty
Ryan Gosling and other celebrities are calling out the company for its animal cruelty. In an open letter to Costco, Gosling wrote:
“You’re already eliminating cages for veal calves and pigs – don’t you feel that chickens also deserve the same mercy?
So many corporations are meeting public demand for more humane products and transparency in the food chain. I sincerely hope that Costco will set plans now to go completely cage-free for its eggs.”
And in a letter to Costco’s chief executive, Brad Prit wrote:
“As you know, these birds producing eggs for your shelves are crammed five or more into cages that are not large enough for even one hen to spread her wings.”
How You Can Help:
If you want to support safer, more humane, sustainable practices, here are five things you can do to get Costco to go cage-free:
- Contact Costco. The Humane Society (led by Food Revolution Summit speaker Wayne Pacelle), has created a website where you can take action. Click here to visit it now. After you fill out the form on the site, a Humane Society representative will give you talking points about this case. Then, you will be connected to a Costco representative so you can express your concerns.
- Sign a petition. You can also sign a petition from Mercy for Animals (led by Food Revolution Summit speaker Nathan Runkle) to tell egg producers to get hens out of cruel cages everywhere.
- Send an email. The Mercy for Animals petition suggests sending an email to Costco CEO Craig Jelinek by clicking here.
- Post a comment to Facebook. You can post a comment and share your views on Costco’s Facebook page, linked here.
- Share this article and tell others, especially people who shop at Costco, about this important issue.
So take action today! Because the more people who spread the word and contact Costco, the more likely the company will take action, rather than only saying they are making changes.
Note: In other egg news, General Mills recently committed to going cage-free with its eggs.