March
2025
Mercy For Animals made significant progress in March. We secured commitments from The Human Bean and Peet’s Coffee to removing surcharges for plant-based milk, held retailers like Walmart Canada and REWE Group accountable for cage-free progress, and joined the Climate Observatory’s task force for COP30. These updates highlight our continued efforts to drive meaningful change for farmed animals.
Maintaining Momentum for Plant-Based Milk
United States
The Human Bean, a popular U.S. drive-through coffee chain, agreed to remove their surcharge for plant-based milk at all locations. The Human Bean offers a variety of dairy-free options, including oat, almond, and soy milk. By eliminating the extra charge, the chain will make plant-based choices more accessible to customers. Peet’s Coffee, which operates over 250 locations across the United States, announced they would also drop the surcharge for plant-based milk, allowing customers to choose oat, almond, or soy milk at no extra cost. Peet’s and The Human Bean were set to be featured in our upcoming report and campaign calling out companies that continue to charge extra for plant-based milk.
Increasing Pressure on the Fourth-Largest U.S. Grocer
United States
We joined a massive coalition effort urging Ahold Delhaize, the fourth-largest grocery retailer in the United States, to prioritize their cage-free commitment. We launched the campaign with posters and a mobile billboard raising awareness among St. Patrick’s Day parade attendees in Portland, Maine—an important market for the company. We also launched a hard-hitting digital ad campaign with the Portland Press Herald, placing educational content directly in the inboxes of subscribers in the area, as well as an online ad campaign targeting customers of Hannaford, a popular Ahold Delhaize brand.
Holding Whole Foods Accountable
United States
We recently released White Striping at Whole Foods, a shopper-led investigative report exposing Whole Foods’ ongoing reliance on Frankenchickens, birds bred for ultrafast growth. The report sheds light on the reality behind the company’s chicken sourcing.
To amplify our message, we launched a striking mobile billboard that circled Whole Foods’ headquarters and flagship store in Austin, Texas, drawing attention to the report’s findings. On the same day, Mercy For Animals volunteers personally delivered a copy of the report to headquarters staff.
We also organized an open letter signed by 14 doctors and public health experts urging Whole Foods leadership to address the grocery chain’s failure to follow through on their public commitment to banning meat from Frankenchickens.
Our efforts to hold Whole Foods accountable are far from over. We continue to escalate public pressure, urging the company to publish a clear plan for eliminating Frankenchickens from their supply chain.
You can read the exposé and take action at WholeFoodsChicken.com.
Moving Walmart Canada to Publish Their First Cage-Free Progress Update
Canada
For years, Mercy For Animals has engaged Walmart Canada through our Canada Animal Welfare Scorecard, urging the company to be transparent about their progress toward fulfilling their cage-free egg commitment. At the end of last year, we increased pressure for greater accountability. As a result, the company recently published their first update on cage-free egg sales, reporting that in 2023 about 9% of shell eggs were cage-free or free-run, according to supplier information.
While we ask companies to report on their total cage-free egg supply rather than just sales, this marks a step forward. The Canadian egg industry and major retailers have been slow to change and resistant to transparency, so this update from Walmart—one of Canada’s largest grocery retailers, with an 8% market share—is significant.
This progress will serve as a catalyst for further action. Through continued engagement and the launch of our Canadian retailer campaign in May, we will keep pushing Walmart to provide updated cage-free sourcing data and a clear plan for eliminating all cruel cages from their supply chain.
Pressuring REWE Group to Reinstate Their Cage-Free Commitment and Report Progress
Germany
After two weeks of sustained pressure and negotiations, the Open Wing Alliance—a coalition Mercy For Animals is a member of—secured an important commitment from REWE Group. The German retailer with stores across Europe has publicly reported that 83% of their global egg supply is cage-free, and despite initial hesitation, the company recently reinstated their 2025 deadline for fully transitioning to cage-free eggs everywhere they operate.
In addition to reaffirming this commitment, REWE has agreed to collaborate with us moving forward. We will continue to apply pressure to ensure that the company remains accountable and reaches their 100% cage-free goal by the end of the year.
Representing Animals in a COP30 Climate Task Force
Global
Mercy For Animals was chosen to join the Climate Observatory’s task force for negotiations at COP30, the 30th annual United Nations climate conference, where world leaders, scientists, and activists will gather to discuss solutions to the global climate crisis. Scheduled for 2025 in Belém, Brazil, COP30 will focus on protecting the Amazon rainforest and advancing global climate action.
This specific task force is a small group of experts from around the world who have experience keeping track of big climate meetings with the United Nations. When applying, we sent a letter explaining the importance of having experts on improving food systems as part of the group.
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“What keeps me focused is to remember that we are their only hope.”
—Camilla, an undercover investigator in Brazil