Three more companies announce cage-free commitments after dialogue with Sinergia Animal

After conversations with Sinergia Animal and other animal protection organizations, Colombian restaurant chain Wok and Sunshine Market, a Thai food delivery company, have recently announced cage-free policies for egg-laying hens in their supply chain. Brazilian food brand Forno de Minas has committed to only source its products from suppliers that guarantee to not use crates for pregnant pigs.

With 21 locations serving Asian food in the city of Bogotá, Colombian restaurant chain Wok has published a cage-free policy confirming that it has been using 100% cage-free eggs since 2012. This commitment represents a permanent decision for the company.

In a similar move, Sunshine Market, Thailand’s health food supermarket, has also released a cage-free policy. The company recognized that battery cages are a concerning issue and has been using cage-free eggs since they began operating in 2013. After a conversation with Sinergia Animal, the company has now decided to extend this policy to cover all of its products containing eggs.

Battery cages are considered one of the cruelest practices in animal farming. In these intensive systems, laying hens are unable to perform many of their natural behaviors, such as spreading their wings completely, pecking at objects on the ground, and nesting. They may experience extreme frustration due to the severe confinement.

One of the 100 largest food industries in Brazil, with three factories in the country, Forno de Minas published its new policy pledging the ban of the use of products from suppliers that cage pregnant pigs in gestation crates. The transition will be fully completed by 2029.

In Brazil, the vast majority of farms still use gestation crates, keeping female pigs in extreme confinement and isolation throughout their pregnancy period—3 to 4 months—preventing them from even turning around. Pigs are artificially inseminated around 3 times a year, which means that these animals spend virtually all their lives in individual and isolated crates.

Sinergia Animal uses dialogue, negotiations and awareness campaigns to encourage major food companies to adopt cage-free policies in their supply chains.

This is a big advance that will impact the lives of thousands of animals in three countries! The confinement in cages can cause hens and pigs immense suffering and frustration throughout their whole lives.