Ben & Jerry's Caught in Lie.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006
FA.Net

The company has since announced that within the week it will cease doing business with its U.S. egg supplier, Michael Foods Inc., one of the country's largest wholesaler of egg products. The decision was prompted by an embarrassing expose by The Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS). Ben & Jerry's had promised the organization several times last year that it would stop using eggs from caged birds but last week reneged, according to HSUS. The group then went public with it's "A Scoop of Lies" campaign. It is insisting that Ben & Jerry's switch to eggs from uncaged hens. The company, which uses an estimated 30 million eggs annually for its U.S. production, had said it could not find "an economically manageable way" to obtain such eggs here. It is now reviewing the possibilities.

HSUS targeted Ben & Jerry's through it's campaign against the treatment of hens by Michael Foods. Michael's said this week that it will give hens more space. HSUS wants it to stop using battery cages. Trader Joes and Whole Foods grocery chains, two other Michael Foods customers, have pledged to switch to cage-free eggs. Over 100 colleges and universities in the U.S. have either done the same or reduced their use of eggs from caged hens.