Cage-free movement grows in Latin America

Three more companies in Latin America have announced that they are going cage-free after dialogues with Sinergia Animal. Pif Paf Alimentos (Brazil), Productos La Locura (Colombia), and El Trigal (Uruguay) have all published cage-free policies for egg-laying hens to be applied to their supply chain.

With more than a thousand products that it exports from Argentina to Japan, Brazilian Pif Paf has committed to adopt an exclusively collective system of gestation for pigs by 2029, thus banning the use of individual crates for pregnant animals. Pif Paf has also committed to other welfare policies for pigs, including the banning of ear notching and a transition to 100% enriched environments.

In Brazil, the vast majority of farms still use gestation crates, keeping female pigs in extreme confinement and isolation throughout their pregnancy period —from 28 days up to three months—preventing them from even turning around. Pigs are artificially inseminated around three times a year, which means that these animals spend most of their lives in individual and isolated crates.

Cafe and pastry shop chain La Locura – with more than a hundred locations in Colombia –

has recently published its 2019 cage-free policy. Since then, the company only uses eggs from cage-free systems in all of its products

Operating since 1948, Uruguayan company El Trigal also committed to stop using eggs sourced from battery cage systems in all of its products. The cookies and gourmet products company is also present in the United States, Brazil, and Paraguay. The transition is set to be fully completed by 2025.

Battery cages are considered one of the cruelest practices in animal farming. In these intensive systems, laying hens are unable to perform many of their natural behaviors, such as spreading their wings completely, pecking, and nesting. Due to the extreme confinement, they experience high stress levels and are much more susceptible to the development of painful illnesses.

Sinergia Animal uses dialogue, negotiations, and awareness campaigns to encourage major food companies to adopt cage-free policies in their supply chains.