Farmfoods has been slammed by animal rights campaigners for dropping its cage-free eggs commitment.
The Humane League called the decision a “betrayal of animal welfare standards” and has launched a petition in response.
The discounter is now the only UK supermarket to not have a cage-free pledge. Its decision meant 140,000 hens would remain in cages in the Farmfoods supply chain, the campaign group estimated.
On its website, Farmfoods said it was “unable to secure supply of sufficient volume of non-cage eggs to meet consumer demand at an acceptable cost to ensure choice for all customers”.
It added that it was “unwilling to deny customers access to the good value, nutritious food provided by eggs laid by caged hens”.
All of its eggs will continue to be laid and processed in Great Britain, carry the British Lion Mark and meet or exceed UK welfare standards.
In response, The Humane League has called on it to reinstate the pledge. It said the company had betrayed its “word to customers just so they can line their pockets”.
Read more: Iceland Foods reinstates cage-free egg commitment by 2027
The campaign group highlighted that Farmfoods’ eggs from caged hens cost the same as Aldi’s free-range eggs.
“We won’t stand by as Farmfoods cages over 100,000 desperately suffering hens,” said Claire Williams, campaigns manager at The Humane League.
“Dropping Farmfoods’ cage-free commitment is a catastrophic blunder from [CEO] George Herd’s leadership,” added Williams. “They have signalled to shoppers that they care less about animal cruelty than any of their competitors.”
Keeping hens in cages prevents them from fully performing key instinctual behaviours.
The move follows Iceland’s u-turn earlier this year, when it reinstated its commitment to transition to entirely to cage-free eggs by June 2027.
Farmfoods has been approached for comment.
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