Taco Bell will serve only cage-free eggs starting 2016
Taco Bell announced on Monday that it will switch to using cage-free eggs by the end of 2016. That changed Monday, with the chain not only switching to cage-free eggs, but jumping ahead of McDonald’s (MCD), Burger King, Starbucks (SBUX) and others in the speed at which it’s making the move. Only 6 percent of USA hens, or about 18 million birds, are raised without cages, according to trade group United Egg Producers.
By the beginning of next year, it plans to remove all artificial flavors and colors, added trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, and unsustainable palm oil from what it calls its core menu items.
The restaurant chain says its customers want simple food. “Implementing this change at record pace underscores we are always listening and responding to our customers, while doing what is right for the business”. The company will start the cage-free eggs only policy by 2016, much earlier than if competitors, National Restaurant News reported quoting company executives.
Up until this week, Taco Bell was the only major fast-food brand without a public strategy for shaking up its food sourcing. “That is why we remain hungry and challenge ourselves to set ambitious yet achievable commitments that make our food better, without ever compromising the flavor that our fans crave”, said Matthews. Since 2013, 13 million of those yearly have been cage-free, the organization said.
The move to 100-percent cage-free eggs within one year, however, is relatively lightning speed for a big chain, she added.
Several fast food restaurants and food processors, from McDonald’s to General Mills, have made recent pledges to transition to a cage-free egg supply in the coming years. The company buys about 2.12 billion eggs a year at its restaurants in the two countries. Cage-free means that the hen isn’t caged, but could spend her entire life indoors, roaming around the barn.
McDonald’s announcement highlighted the fact that egg suppliers will have to adapt to the changing market’s demands on how the food source is produced.
“Taco Bell caters to a diverse customer base, and this announcement demonstrates that treating animals with respect is a value that is shared across the entire population”, Dreskin said in a statement.