Feb. 15--Trader Joe's announced Friday that it would sell eggs from only cage-free hens in stores throughout the country by 2025, news celebrated by animal rights activists who had been pressing the grocery discounter to make the change.
Last year, restaurant chains and food manufacturers made similar announcements, marking a monumental shift in the egg industry driven by consumer demand and animal rights activists. Grocery retailers appear to be the next frontier for the cage-free egg movement.
About 62 percent of the eggs sold at Trader Joe's are already cage-free, the company said in its letter to customers Friday. By 2020, all Trader Joe's stores in Western states will sell only cage-free eggs, the company said, with the change rolling out nationally by 2025.
"If market conditions allow us to accomplish these goals earlier, while still providing our customers outstanding value, we will do so," Trader Joe's said in its letter.
An online petition calling for Trader Joe's to make the leap to cage-free eggs garnered almost 100,000 signatures in the days leading up to the announcement.
"Trader Joe's has joined the ranks of modern supermarkets committed to letting hens out of their cages. No supermarket with a future wants to leave cruelty on their shelves -- it's just plain bad for business," said Leah Garces, U.S. director for Compassion in World Farming, one of the groups advocating for the change.
