BANGKOK—Humane Society International in Thailand is celebrating the notable recent achievement of Scarletta and Sloane’s Artisan, a restaurant group and pasta manufacturer, which announced a commitment to exclusively use cage-free egg and egg products as of October 2024. The commitment came about when the group conducted a review on how to improve animal welfare in its supply chain, and Humane Society International facilitated connections to cage-free egg producers. Scarletta and Sloane’s Artisan has already implemented cage-free eggs for use at its restaurants (Scarletta Pasta Bar and Salad Smith) and in the products it sells to other restaurants and retailers. HSI supported the company’s transition by recommending producers that meet the science-based animal welfare requirements that allow birds to express their important natural behaviors such as nesting and perching.

The majority of the 95.8 million hens used for egg production in Thailand spend their lives in wire cages with each hen provided no more space than the size of an A4 sheet of paper. The cage is so small that hens cannot spread their wings or take more than a few steps. In such production systems, hens are unable to express important natural behavior, including nesting, perching and dustbathing, all of which are possible in cage-free systems. Hens are sentient, intelligent and sociable animals. Scientific studies have shown that they empathize with their chicks, enjoy social activities such as dustbathing, and can anticipate the future, which in turn affects their decision making.

Scarletta and Sloane’s Artisan isn’t planning to stop at cage-free eggs; the company is looking into other animal welfare and sustainability improvements for its supply chain. The company understands the importance of its transition to cage-free eggs and hopes it will create a ripple effect in Thai society.

“We are passionate about quality food, sustainability impacts, and animal welfare. We started using cage-free eggs in 2020 for some of our products and will be completing our transition to 100% cage-free eggs in the last quarter of 2024. We will continue to use only cage-free eggs going forward for all brands. All our quality-driven products are made by hand in our own production facility by passionate individuals,” said Joe Sloane, founder and managing director of Scarletta and Sloane’s Artisan.

Lalada Tangjerdjaras, Thailand program manager of farm animal welfare and protection at Humane Society International said, “Joe Sloane and his team at Scarletta and Sloane’s Artisan are passionate about animal welfare and quickly chose to stop using any eggs from hens confined to cages. We applaud this strong cage-free commitment and are available to support companies looking to improve animal welfare.”

ENDS

Media contact: Lalada Tangjerdjaras, Thailand program manager for farm animal welfare and protection at Humane Society International, ltangjerdjaras@hsi.org