Kewpie’s Caged Hens
Unclean. Unethical. Inequitable. Outdated.
Kewpie is failing to meet global animal welfare and food safety standards. Kewpie claims it “aim[s] to be a group contributing to the food, culture, and health of the world through ‘great taste, empathy, and uniqueness,’” yet Kewpie’s outdated and filthy practices are not only cruel to animals but pose serious health risks to consumers.
Not only that, but Kewpie has already committed to going cage-free in the United States and Europe, which means Kewpie is failing to provide the same standard of eggs for ALL of its global consumers. It’s time for Kewpie to meet global standards and take human health and animal welfare seriously.
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Why cage-free?
Food Safety
Cages aren’t just incredibly cruel to animals—they also pose serious health risks for humans. Overall evidence points to an increased risk of salmonella in caged systems compared to non-caged systems. These cramped, outdated cages raise major food safety concerns for consumers.
Animal welfare
The Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare, which were written by Irish medical scientist Francis Brambell in 1965 and codified by the UK's Farm Animal Welfare Council in 1979, represent the bare minimum of living standards that animals in captivity should have: (1) freedom from thirst and hunger, (2) freedom from discomfort by providing adequate shelter, (3) freedom from disease, pain, or injury, (4) freedom from distress and fear, and (5) freedom to engage in natural behaviors. On factory farms, animals are denied most if not all of the natural behaviors they would otherwise engage in. This has serious consequences for their physical and psychological health.
Global equity
Kewpie has already committed to going cage-free in the United States and Europe. It’s not acceptable that Kewpie will not provide the same standard of eggs for ALL of its customers around the world.
Why proper animal welfare standards are important
Kewpie claims that cages prevent stress and injury, but scientific studies show the contrary.
Confinement
Egg-laying hens are forcefully shoved inside wire cages, which do not adequately provide for their welfare. The cages are so overcrowded that hens cannot carry out many important, basic behaviors. Some hens cannot endure this extreme suffering and die in their cages.
Injuries
Foot and claw damage are more frequent in cages than in other systems, with lesions, fissures, and twisted or broken claws resulting from stepping on sharp wiring every day. Often, other body parts are caught in the caging, which results in fractured or broken bones, deformities, and severe feather loss.
Mental anguish
Like any animal, chickens are highly motivated to perform natural behaviors. Although some cage farms provide some token enrichment, it is so poor that it is of little or no significance to hens. The constant inability to perform any actions that feel natural leads to immense, unending frustration and irreversible psychological distress.
Kewpie Corporation is falling behind
Hundreds of companies around the world are banning cruel and filthy cages. Below are some of the prominent companies that have made global cage-free pledges.
About Kewpie Corporation
Kewpie Corporation is a prominent Japanese food company that uses approximately 10% of all eggs produced in Japan. Kewpie’s flagship product is its mayonnaise, which the company produces and sells worldwide. Consumers around the world are calling on Kewpie to release a time-bound global cage-free commitment.
Q & B Foods/Kewpie USA: Q & B Foods, the US division of Kewpie, promises to use “high quality” ingredients, including cage-free eggs. So why won’t Kewpie give that same standard to customers outside of the US and Europe? As global consumer demand for cage-free eggs continues to grow, major corporations are moving away from this inhumane and outdated practice. It’s time for Kewpie to stop sourcing low-quality eggs for customers outside the US and make a global cage-free commitment.
About the OPEN WING ALLIANCE (OWA)
Open Wing Alliance brings member organizations together to create a unified front in our campaign to free egg-laying hens from cages. We share campaign strategies, tactics, and resources around the world in the march toward our shared objective.
