2016 may be known as the year of the cage-free egg. The number of restaurants and food retailers making public pledges to serve cage-free eggs reached a tipping point, with Walmart, Kroger, CVS, and Albertsons all making statements in just the past several weeks. It’s an encouraging trend in corporate responsibility for farm animal welfare.
The problem most companies now face is sourcing from a very limited supply chain. Currently, cage-free eggs make up only about 7 percent of the market. The assumption is farms will convert conventional egg production to cage-free over time — which is why many companies put a 10-year timeline on their pledges.