BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA—Under its new animal welfare and sustainability initiative, Colombian restaurant group Grupo Takami announced that by 2022, its supply chain will use 100 percent cage-free eggs. This includes shell eggs, processed eggs and products that contain eggs. Grupo Takami—which operates Central Cevicheria, OSAKI, 80 Sillas, Black Bear, Cacio e Pepe, Segundo, La Fama, Cantina y Punto, Sipote and Ugly American restaurants—will work with Humane Society International, a leading global animal protection organization, and its suppliers, to complete the transition by then.

A spokesperson for Grupo Takami stated: “At Takami, we are aware of how important it is for the environment and the company to develop sustainable sourcing strategies based on the meeting of high-quality, food safety and sustainability standards, that allow us to find the best ingredients for our dishes. That is why we are proud to join the global cage-free egg movement in partnership with HSI and be able to improve sustainability and animal welfare in our supply chain.”

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Elissa Lane, deputy director of HSI’s farm animals campaign, stated: “We applaud Grupo Takami for taking seriously animal welfare and its clients’ concerns about this issue by adopting a cage-free egg procurement policy. Grupo Takami’s commitment will improve the lives of animals and we look forward to continuing to work with the company to implement the program.”

In Colombia, the majority of egg-laying hens are confined in wire cages so small the birds can barely stretch their wings. Each cage confines between five to 10 hens and each animal has less space than a letter-size sheet of paper on which to spend her entire life. Cage-free systems generally offer hens higher levels of animal welfare, and allow the animals to express more natural behaviors, including nesting, dustbathing, perching and forraging.