Global commitments to cage-free egg supply have grown substantially, but converting pledges into verified welfare improvements requires implementation monitoring and standards.
Cage-free commitments by major food companies represent a significant advance in egg supply chain welfare standards, but the gap between a pledge and a verified welfare improvement is substantial. Removing cages is a necessary but insufficient welfare improvement: hens moved to barns without adequate perches, litter management, pop holes to range, and appropriate stocking densities may experience different but comparably significant welfare problems. Keel bone fractures — caused by falls from perches — affect a high proportion of hens in some cage-free systems and cause chronic pain. Ranging quality in free range systems varies enormously depending on range condition, pop hole access, and hen motivation to range. Monitoring actual welfare outcomes in converted systems, rather than verifying that cages have been removed, is the appropriate post-commitment welfare assurance step.