Update: As of June 2023, Green Connect has published that it no longer buys eggs from caged hens.
HO CHI MINH CITY, Viet Nam—Humane Society International welcomes Green Connect, a social enterprise in Viet Nam, as they join the cage-free egg movement. Green Connect commits to exclusively produce and sell cage-free eggs across all its brands, including its online sales platform NODA and its in-house egg production, Larva Yum.
Green Connect has already taken steps toward its commitment by collaborating with its in-house farm production brand Larva Yum. In response to consumer demand for animal welfare and environmental sustainability, Larva Yum introduced “Trung ga 3 Moc,” its free-range egg product. As of April 2023, Larva Yum raised 6,500 hens in both free-range and cage-free barns, allowing the hens to freely engage in their natural behaviors such as perching and dustbathing.
Hens are sentient, intelligent and sociable animals. Scientific studies have shown that they have a sense of time, can count, learn from their flock mates and anticipate the future, which in turn affects their decision-making. They experience positive emotional states and enjoy social activities such as dustbathing.
Phuc Huynh, the CEO and founder of Green Connect, shared, “Working on animal welfare and the circular economy is a key vision of our business, as at Green Connect our team has a passion for creating something that is not only good for consumers but also respects our planet and other species.”
Hang Le, regional farm animal welfare manager for HSI in Southeast Asia, says: “Major brands like Mondelez International, Fusion Hotel Group and Pizza4P’s are all committed to sourcing only cage-free eggs in Viet Nam no later than 2025. Green Connect is providing what consumers and businesses want by no longer selling eggs from cruel cage production systems, which confine hens in tiny cages made of wire, so small that the birds cannot even fully stretch their wings.”
With this current project, Green Connect will scale up its cage-free production as consumer demand is increasing.
Le added, “Humane Society International applauds Green Connect’s commitment and is working with them and other cage-free pioneers to improve animal welfare and make a cage-free future for laying hens a reality.”
Food companies and producers in the region are spearheading efforts to improve animal welfare. In Viet Nam, 40 international and local food corporations committed to go cage-free. Recently, Mondelez International launched its first product line to use 100% cage-free eggs. In addition to moving hens out of cages, Humane Society International is working with pork producer Nguyen Khoi and eight food retailers to eliminate the production or procurement of pork from systems that confine mother pigs to crates so they are unable to turn-around for the majority of their lives. A crate-free production system provides mother pigs with more space to move and turn around compared to the intensive and long-term confinement of gestation and farrowing crate systems. These examples show how companies are responding to Vietnamese consumer demand to end some of the most inhumane practices inflicted on animals.
Facts:
- In 2021, Viet Nam had nearly 77 million hens who laid 8.2 billion eggs, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. There are thousands of egg producers in the country, with varying sizes of production.
- Humane Society International’s Farm Animal Welfare and Protection program works with companies, producers, financial institutions and other stakeholders to implement higher welfare for farm animals in production now and to increase availability, accessibility and affordability of plant-based and alternative proteins.
ENDS
Media contacts:
- Humane Society International in Viet Nam: Phuong Tham, HSI Viet Nam Country Director; phuongth@hsi.org
- Green Connect: Phuc Huynh, Green Connect CEO and founder; phuc.huynh@greenconnect.vn
