Brit supermarkets to ban eggs from battery hens

In a move against the ongoing consumer backlash over the impact of cheap food on animal welfare, British supermarkets have declared that they would be banning the sale of eggs from battery hens.

London, Jan 6 : In a move against the ongoing consumer backlash over the impact of cheap food on animal welfare, British supermarkets have declared that they would be banning the sale of eggs from battery hens.

While the eggs from caged hens will be soon going off the shelf from supermarkets like Sainsbury, Morrisons and the Co-op, the likes of Marks and Spencer and Waitrose have already removed eggs from batter hens.

The move indicates that in three years the majority of supermarkets will be seen selling eggs from barn, free range and organic hens.

The announcement comes in line with a campaign by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to influence consumers claiming better welfare for hens.

By next year, Sainsbury, which is promoted by Oliver, is expected to end the sale of all eggs from caged hens, equivalent to a quarter of its egg sales

In a similar move, Coop is expected to announce the ban on eggs of caged hens and Morrisons said that it planned to stop selling eggs from caged hens in its own brand eggs by 2010.

While Asda has not set a deadline, it insists that it is "working hard" to phase out the use of eggs from caged hens.

On the other hand, Tesco said that though it was reducing shelf space for eggs from caged hens, it would soon be announcing a ban owing to the constant pressure.

ANI