Humane Society of the United States Praises Hyatt for Switching to Cage-Free Eggs

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. April 29, 2011

April 27, 2011 - The Humane Society of the United States is pleased to announce that Hyatt Hotels & Resorts has improved animal welfare and food safety by switching all of the 2.4 million (whole) eggs it uses in its U.S. restaurants and room service operations to cage-free.

The Chicago-based company operates 131 full-service hotels in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean and serves breakfast to over 10 million guests a year. As part of its new initiative, all of Hyatt's full-service hotels in North America including Andaz, Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency and Hyatt hotels are moving away from eggs produced by hens confined in tiny cages that provide each bird less space than a sheet of paper to spend her entire life.

“By switching to exclusively cage-free shell eggs at all of its locations, Hyatt is improving the lives of animals and ensuring a safer food supply,” said Josh Balk, director of corporate policy for The HSUS' factory farming campaign. “The Humane Society of the United States applauds the company for tackling this important issue.”

“As a leader in the hotel industry, one of our core beliefs is being a responsible corporate citizen,” said Susan Terry, vice president of culinary operations in North America for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. “Switching to exclusively cage-free shell eggs is an important step in our pursuit of creating a more humane food system, which also supports more sustainable and safer products.”

Humane Society of the United States Facts:

• U.S. factory farms confine about 280 million hens in cages so small, they can't even spread their wings. Extensive scientific research confirms this causes suffering.
• Cage-free hens generally have two to three times more space per bird than caged hens. Cage-free hens may not be able to go outside and, like caged hens, may have parts of their beaks cut off, but they can walk, spread their wings and lay their eggs in nests—all behaviors permanently denied to hens crammed into cages.
• Factory farming is a major social issue: A study by food industry consultancy Technomic ranked animal welfare as the third-most important social issue to restaurant patrons, and an American Farm Bureau-funded report found that 89 percent of Americans believe that food companies that require their suppliers to treat farm animals better are doing the right thing.
• Last summer's recall of half a billion eggs spotlighted the animal welfare and food safety problems associated with confining hens in cages. All 15 studies published in the last five years comparing Salmonella rates in cage and cage-free operations found increased Salmonella rates in cage operations.