|
|
Open Letter Released Amid Bird Flu Crisis and Largest-Ever Global Investigation into Egg Industry
[New York, NY—June 17, 2025] — Over 100 celebrities—including Nikki Glaser, Mayim Bialik, Tig Notaro, Moby, Harley Quinn Smith, Alexandra Paul, Blake Moynes, Erika Eleniak, Marco Antonio Regil, Elaine Hendrix, Tara Strong, Joanna Krupa, Daniel Newman, Brett Dier, Emma Kenney, Marcus Daniell, Daniela Sarfati, Rain Phoenix, Davey Havok, Alison Eastwood, and the late Loretta Swit—demand that food corporations around the world eliminate the use of cruel and unsanitary cages in their egg supply chains. The powerful call to action comes in an open letter released today, in the wake of the largest-ever global investigation into the industrial egg industry and amidst the escalating bird flu crisis.
The open letter, organized by the The Humane League and Mercy For Animals, alongside nearly 100 organizations that make up the Open Wing Alliance, exposes the suffering of millions of hens still trapped in small, metal cages stacked in filthy sheds—conditions that contribute to both animal cruelty and the spread of disease.
“This isn’t dystopian fiction,” the celebrities write. “It’s the daily reality exposed by an unprecedented investigation into egg farms in over 35 countries.”
The letter urges global fast food chains, supermarkets, food manufacturers, and hospitality giants like Walmart, Zensho Holdings, Aeon, and Inspire Brands (parent company of Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins) to take immediate and transparent action to eliminate battery cages from their global operations—not in years, but now.
“Consumers do not want cruelty hidden behind your closed doors,” the letter continues. “Every hen deserves the chance to live free from suffering, and every consumer deserves to trust where their food comes from, no matter where in the world they are raised.”
This urgent plea follows a sweeping exposé—the largest-ever investigation of its kind—released by the Open Wing Alliance in collaboration with We Animals and Reporters for Animals International, which revealed disturbing conditions across egg farms in 37 countries on six continents, showing hens confined without enough space to move, stretch their wings, or escape rotting corpses. The footage reinforces growing public concerns about both animal welfare and the role of industrial animal agriculture in driving zoonotic disease risk.
“From North America to Asia, Europe to Africa, South America to Australia—no country, no company using cages is safe from what we found,” says Nikki Glaser, comedian and 2025/26 Golden Globe host in the short film narration. “It turns out, the price tag is the least shocking thing about eggs. What investigators documented across more than 35 countries will make you question everything.”
Many companies—including The Hershey Company, Hormel Foods, Famous Brands, and Barilla—have already transitioned to 100% cage-free systems for their global egg supply chains. But major global players continue to lag behind, hiding behind broken promises and loophole-ridden timelines.
“It’s time to end the era of cages,” the letter concludes. “Either join your competitors—or be left behind by your customers.”
To view the full letter and list of 104 celebrity signatories, please click here. To view the full investigation, please visit RealCostofEggs.com.
About the Open Wing Alliance (OWA)
Founded in 2016 by The Humane League, the Open Wing Alliance is a coalition of nearly 100 animal protection organizations in 75 countries on six continents, trailblazing farm animal welfare in nearly every market globally. Through shared knowledge, resources, and people power, the OWA is united around their goal to end the abuse of chickens worldwide with over 3,000 corporate commitments to enforce higher animal welfare policies secured around the world.
About The Humane League (THL)
The Humane League is a global nonprofit that exists to end the abuse of animals raised for food by influencing the policies of the world’s biggest companies, enacting laws, and empowering others to take action. Since its founding in 2005, The Humane League has focused on effectively ending the worst abuses in animal agriculture. It has secured animal welfare commitments from thousands of major foodservice providers, restaurants, retailers, food manufacturers, and hospitality leaders worldwide—changing the lives of billions of farm animals suffering daily.
About Mercy For Animals (MFA)
Mercy For Animals is a leading international nonprofit working to end industrial animal agriculture by constructing a just and sustainable food system. Active in Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, Southeast Asia, and the United States, the organization has conducted over 100 investigations of factory farms and slaughterhouses, influenced over 500 corporate policies, and helped pass historic legislation to ban cages for farmed animals. Learn more at MercyForAnimals.org.
###