Booths is celebrating a national food award for its commitment to ditching battery cage eggs.
Booths is celebrating a national food award for its commitment to ditching battery cage eggs in favour of eggs from free-range, organic or barn kept hens.
Booths scooped the Compassion in World Farming Good Egg Award at The House of Commons on the 14th of May, alongside national organisations like John Lewis, Virgin Trains and Starbucks Coffee Company UK. Booths is the only UK food retailer to win the award this year.
Now in its third year, The Good Egg Awards have been developed by Compassion in World Farming, the leading farm animal welfare charity, to celebrate companies that have committed to freeing millions of hens from a life of suffering in battery cages.
Penelope Keith, one of Britain’s best-loved actresses and patron of Compassion in World Farming, Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food and TV presenter Charlotte Uhlenbroek presented the highly respected award.
Other celebrities also supporting the 2009 Good Egg Awards include Twiggy Lawson, Jo Brand, David Suchet and Paul O’Grady.
Phil Godwin from Booths says:
“We’re really pleased to have been recognised amongst some the UK’s leading businesses for our commitment to free-range, organic or barn kept hens.
“Booths wants to give their customers the assurance of the highest level of animal welfare, plus the knowledge that they’re getting the best tasting, locally sourced product.
Sales of free range and barn kept eggs made up 61 per cent of the 700 million pound UK retail shell egg industry from August 2007 to August 2008.
Last month at celebrations in the Eiffel Tower, 70 European companies from 17 other countries including France, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic and Hungary also received their Compassion in World Farming Good Egg Awards. The 2009 UK and European Good Egg Award winners combined currently use more than one billion eggs each year in their products, restaurants or staff catering.
The policies of Good Egg Awards winners have so far freed over 20 million hens from life in a cage.
Compassion in World Farming’s Chief Executive, Philip Lymbery said: “The success of Booths and other 2009 winners really demonstrates that the European food industry is taking this issue seriously. We’ve got companies from all sectors making a move to cage-free eggs, including the catering operations of public bodies, hospitals and universities. They are clearly responding to what they think consumers want and are doing what’s best for the future of their business.”
The growing consumer trend for more ethically produced eggs means that the food industry has a clear opportunity to lead the way in animal welfare standards, ahead of the 2012 ban on barren battery cages. But the ban will still allow ‘enriched cages’, which will continue to compromise laying hen welfare.
Enriched cages are small wire cages which severely restrict a hen’s movement and natural behaviour.
For more information on the Compassion in World Farming Good Egg Award visit www.goodeggawards.com and www.ciwf.org.uk/good_egg_winners_09 For information on Booths go to www.booths.co.uk