Dunkin' Donuts announced Monday that it will switch to using cage-free eggs in the U.S. exclusively by 2025, becoming the latest restaurant chain to embrace the cage-free movement.
"We have a responsibility to ensure the humane treatment of animals, an issue we know is also important to both our franchisee community and our loyal guests," Christine Riley Miller, senior director of corporate social responsibility for Dunkin' Brands, said in a statement.
This is a step up from an announcement made earlier in March, when Dunkin' said that it has sourced five percent of its eggs from cage-free hens since 2013 and intends to increase that number to 10 percent by the end of 2016. Furthermore, it promised it will source only gestation crate-free pork in the U.S. by 2022.
The Humane Society of the United States, who have pressured other companies to make similar switches, has been working with Dunkin' to implement these changes. Josh Balk, senior food policy director for the Humane Society of the United States, noted that this commitment is important, despite it being some time before it will be realized.
"[Dunkin' Donuts] is one of the most iconic restaurant brands in the country, and a major user of eggs," he said, according to The Huffington Post. "[Which makes Monday's announcement] a bombshell announcement felt throughout the egg industry that we've reached a tipping point on the issue of caging egg-laying hens."
These changes comes on the heels of announcements made by other chains such as McDonald's Corp., which said in September that its 16,000 U.S. and Canadian restaurants will serve only eggs laid by cage-free chickens within 10 years, and Burger King, which has committed to exclusively using cage-free eggs by 2017.
Balk added that these changes are the result of consumers demanding more humanely sourced food. "The public is more aware now than ever before about the standard treatment of farm animals within food production," he said. "Major companies simply don't want their brand to be associated with this inhumane production method."
The announcement appeared to impact the value of Dunkin's shares, causing it to go up 1.6 percent to $41.95 on Monday.
