The global campaign for cage-free egg production has achieved significant policy commitments from retailers and producers, but the transition is incomplete and cage-free systems have their own welfare challenges that require attention.
The cage-free transition represents real progress for billions of hens globally — freedom from chronic confinement that prevents nearly all natural behavior is a genuine welfare improvement. However, the welfare story does not end with cage-free. Keel bone fractures, high mortality from disease in crowded aviaries, and inadequate management in poorly designed facilities mean that cage-free does not automatically equal good welfare. The goal must be cage-free systems designed and managed to achieve genuinely high welfare outcomes, not merely the removal of cages. Certification standards must evolve to measure welfare outcomes rather than housing inputs alone.