SÃO PAULO—Premier Pet, one of the largest pet food companies in Brazil, has announced it will switch to exclusively cage-free eggs in its entire supply chain by 2025, becoming the first pet food company to adopt this policy in Brazil and Latin America. This announcement comes after working with Humane Society International, one of the largest animal protection organizations in the world, and other animal protection organizations. Premier Pet and HSI will continue to work together on the implementation of this policy.
Cristiana F. Ferreira Pontieri, Premier Pet product development director, stated: “The adoption of the cage-free philosophy represents yet another step in PremieRpet®’s commitment to conscious consumption at all of our activity levels and reflects our concern for animal welfare and high quality ingredients. To lead this initiative in Brazil, in alignment with global trends, meets and strengthens our precepts of more natural production practices.”
Maria Fernanda Martin, corporate policy and program manager for HSI Farm Animals in Brazil, said: “We applaud Premier Pet for becoming the first pet food company in Brazil and throughout Latin America to pledge to use only cage-free eggs, and look forward to continuing to work with them and their egg suppliers on the implementation of this policy. This move will relieve thousands of egg-laying hens from a life of extreme confinement and sends a clear message to the egg industry that the future of egg production is cage-free.”
Egg-laying hens are typically confined for their whole lives in wire battery cages, so small that the cannot even fully stretch their wings. Both common sense and science agree that virtually immobilizing animals for their entire lives causes mental distress and significant physical pain.
Premier Pet joins hundreds of food corporations that have already committed to switching to exclusively cage-free eggs in Brazil and throughout Latin America, including Unilever, which has committed to a global cage-free egg supply chain by 2025, and Nestlé, the largest food company in the world, also by 2025. After working with HSI, Burger King and Arcos Dorados, which operates McDonald’s in Brazil and 19 other countries in the region, committed to switching to 100 percent cage-free eggs, as did other restaurant operators, accounting for thousands of restaurants in Brazil and Latin America. In Brazil, Compass Group (GRSA) and Sodexo have previously announced their commitment to a global cage-free policy in partnership with HSI. Alsea, the largest restaurant operator in Latin America and Spain, and Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest bakery company, announced their cage-free egg policies after several years of working with HSI. Corporations like Kraft-Heinz, International Meal Company (IMC), Cargill, Brazil Fast Food Corporation (BFFC), Subway, Intercontinental Hotels Group, AccorHotels, Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, Giraffas, Barilla, Divino Fogão, Habib’s, Grupo CRM, Bauducco and Grupo LemosPassos have also pledged to go cage-free in Brazil.
Media contact: Maria Fernanda Martin, mfmartin@hsi.org, +55 (11) 9 5770 9922
Humane Society International and its partner organisations together constitute one of the world’s largest animal protection organisations. For more than 25 years, HSI has been working for the protection of all animals through the use of science, advocacy, education and hands on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide – on the Web at hsi.org.