Challenging Ahold Delhaize

The International Council for Animal Welfare Challenges Ahold Delhaize to Reveal Its Egg Sourcing Practices

The International Council for Animal Welfare recently published a full-page ad in Maine’s largest newspaper, the Portland Press Herald, challenging the retailer Hannaford to transparently reveal how animals are treated to produce the eggs they sell on their shelves. 

Hannaford’s parent company, Ahold Delhaize, committed to going 100 percent cage-free by 2025 but has since pushed that date back by seven years, condemning hens to languish in cruel confinement for another 2,500+ days. The International Council for Animal Welfare challenges Hannaford and its parent company to reveal the true cost of eggs by showing its customers:

• A day in the life of a caged hen;

• What happens to male chicks – deemed worthless by the egg industry; and

• How hens are killed when they’re no longer seen as “productive.”

The average customer is unaware that male chicks are routinely killed on their first day of life, simply because they cannot lay eggs and will not grow large enough to be raised for meat. “Chick maceration” refers to the male baby chicks being ground up alive – their fragile bodies torn apart and disposed of like garbage. 

For the female chicks, their suffering is no less dire. Many have their beaks seared off and then spend years cramped in cages so small they cannot spread their wings, dust bathe, nest, or engage in other natural behaviors. After years of forced egg-laying, once their bodies have been pushed past their breaking points, they are killed and discarded.

Ahold Delhaize claims to follow the Five Domains of animal welfare, and acknowledges animal consciousness, yet their actions conflict with this. 

The International Council for Animal Welfare calls on Ahold Delhaize to hold themselves and their suppliers accountable by filming and sharing the harsh realities of these practices with the public. It's time for Ahold Delhaize to take meaningful action toward transparency and implementing real change, and for customers to know exactly where their food is coming from so they can make informed decisions aligned with their values.

To stay up to date on the campaign, visit CagedEggs.com.