Protesters call out Food Lion’s failed promises: Company modified timeline last year

SALISBURY — About a dozen demonstrators lined up outside of the Food Lion executive headquarters on Monday to protest parent company Ahold Delhaize USA’s treatment of egg-laying chickens.

At the core of the protest was the determined failure of Ahold Delhaize USA to honor a commitment to reach 100 percent cage-free shell egg assortment by 2025. That commitment was announced by Delhaize America in a 2016 press release available on the company’s website. However, last year the company announced a modified timetable for the transition.

“Delhaize America, and its Food Lion and Hannaford banners, will work toward a 100 percent cage-free shell egg assortment first in its private brand selection, which accounts for the majority of shell egg sales,” the 2016 release said. “Delhaize America, along with its Food Lion and Hannaford banners, will then continually increase its overall supply of cage-free eggs to obtain 100 percent cage-free in all shell eggs offerings by 2025 or sooner based on available supply, affordability and customer demand.

At the time, Chief Strategy and Development Officer JJ Fleeman said, “Delhaize America supports continuous improvement in animal welfare practices through its comprehensive approach to sustainability. Today’s cage-free egg announcement is another step we are taking to ensure the humane treatment of animals while also reinforcing a number of strong sustainability practices we have implemented across our organization.”

On Monday, the protesters, who were representing The Humane League, an international nonprofit organization that works to end the abuse of animals raised for food through corporate, media and community outreach, delivered more than 30,000 petitions demanding that Delhaize America honor its 2016 commitment.

“Food Lion promised to end cruel battery cages for millions of hens by 2025, yet it continues to profit from this abuse,” said protester and organizer Marissa Garst. “We are here to demand accountability since its executives clearly haven’t prioritized animal welfare. As a former Food Lion shopper, I refuse to support a company that is complicit in the intensive confinement of millions of animals despite making an empty promise to do better.”

The way Garst put it, the protest was about accountability and action.

“Our goal with the protest was to get the attention of executives and let them know we are watching,” she said. “We demand accountability and action, as millions of hens are suffering in cages right now. These hens don’t care about an empty promise — they want the cage door to open.”

Garst indicated that they also want to make sure that the community is aware that Food Lion misled them with an empty promise.

“We know Food Lion customers share our concern for animals,” she said. “A study of Food Lion customers found that they desire more humane standards for animals, and feel duped by packaging in Food Lion stores that makes claims like ‘natural’ and ‘farm fresh’ on cartons of eggs coming from caged hens.”

Harrison Road is not exactly conducive for foot traffic, but Garst was still ready to make the group’s sales pitch.

“Food Lion promised nearly 10 years ago to end cruel battery cages for millions of hens by 2025, yet they continue to profit from this egregious abuse,” Garst said. “Hens in battery cages endure unfathomable physical and mental suffering, unable to even spread their wings or move freely for virtually their entire lives. Food Lion executives clearly haven’t prioritized animal welfare, so we are here to ensure they hear us loud and clear. As former Food Lion shoppers, we refuse to support a company who is complicit in the intensive confinement of millions of animals despite making an empty promise to do better.”

While it was raining on Monday, the protestors still numbered in excess of a dozen.

“This is comparable for many of our actions — some protests have more and some have fewer people,” Garst said. “But the fact that 14 people came out to protest in the muddy grass on a rainy Monday afternoon, in most cases taking time off work and away from caregiving responsibilities, shows how important this issue is to many Food Lion customers.”

According to a senior director of corporate engagement with The Humane League, cages are not only cruel, they are dangerous.

“Cages are being phased out across the food industry — not just because they’re inhumane, but because they’re risky,” said Michael Windsor. “The USDA’s own data shows the majority of birds lost to avian flu this year came from caged systems. Over 35,000 petition signatures are calling on Food Lion and Ahold Delhaize to honor their promise, and with 85 percent of their own customers backing cage-free eggs, there’s no excuse for delay or silence.”

For its part, Food Lion’s parent company maintains that it is still committed to the promise of cage-free eggs. However, a spokesperson for the company said on Wednesday that the timeline for the transition has changed due to external forces impacting the industry.

“Advancing the sustainability of Ahold Delhaize USA companies and the products of each of our brands remains a top priority as a leader in grocery retailing,” Communications Vice President Christy Phillips-Brown said. “Ahold Delhaize USA is making steady progress in its transition to cage-free eggs and recently updated its timeline to reflect a number of factors including the current egg supply shortage in the U.S., which has escalated with the avian flu and led to historic increases in egg prices for consumers along with an extremely limited supply of cage-free eggs. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with our supply partners to further our progress, while remaining committed to our mission of providing healthy, affordable nutrition for our customers.”

Late last year, Ahold Delhaize USA announced the new sustainability targets related to cage-free eggs as well as group-housed pork products. The release indicated that “the current targets will not be met as a result of industry supply, affordability and customer demand.”

At that time, the company established new targets “designed to meet customer needs, while also advancing Ahold Delhaize USA companies’ commitment to sustainability.”

Per that announcement, the cage-free eggs timeline is now the end of 2032.

“By no later than the end of 2030, Ahold Delhaize USA aims to achieve 70 percent cage-free shell egg unit sales and will further aim to achieve 100 percent by no later than the end of 2032,” the announcement said.

Beginning in 2025, Ahold Delhaize USA will pilot signage to distinguish cage-free eggs for customers, with the stated intention to apply learnings from the pilot going forward.

“To show our strong commitment to forward progress, we will continue to evaluate and modify shelled egg assortments in each of our brands, starting in 2025, by increasing the percent of cage-free (stock keeping units) SKUs while decreasing caged SKUs for both private brand and national brand shelled eggs,” the company said at the time. “It’s important to note that to achieve this ambition, availability within the supply chain, demand among customers, as well as legislation and regulatory compliance with programs like WIC, are all critical factors in achieving this progress. We recognize this work cannot be done alone. The transition to cage-free eggs will require strong collaboration and partnership among partners, farmers, suppliers and customers, and we look forward to bringing these stakeholders along this journey.”

At the time, Chief Sustainability Officer at Ahold Delhaize USA Marc Stolzman said, “As a leader in grocery retail, we take seriously the role our companies play in sustainability and driving more sustainable outcomes. As with many complex sustainability topics, we recognize that obstacles remain; yet we remain committed to working with other key stakeholders to advance progress on this journey, as we know achieving our ambition requires deep collaboration, as well as innovation in the supply chain and affordability for customers.”