Mercy For Animals releases report showing Canadian retailers failing on cage-free egg promises

New rankings reveal most grocers will miss their 2025 deadlines — if they haven't abandoned them already

TORONTO, Oct. 28, 2025 /CNW/ -- Mercy For Animals just released "Beyond the Commitment: Evaluating Cage-Free Progress Across the Canadian Retail Sector," a new report assessing 16 of Canada's largest grocery retailers on their cage-free egg pledges. With only two months before the self-imposed end-of-2025 deadline, the findings show that the vast majority are falling far short.

In 2016, every major Canadian grocer committed — through the Retail Council of Canada — to sourcing 100% cage-free eggs by the end of 2025. Nearly a decade later, no major retailer has fulfilled the pledge or published a clear plan for doing so. Using a 200-point scale measuring policy strength, progress and transparency, the report awards bonus points for a published roadmap and penalizes companies promoting "enriched" battery cages, which still confine birds and prevent many natural behaviours.

Key Findings

• No major retailer has met its 2025 cage-free goal.
• Eight companies — including Sobeys, Loblaws and Costco — received failing grades.
• Costco is nearly 100% cage-free in the U.S. but only 21.3% in Canada.
• Loblaws reports just 16% cage-free eggs, far below its 100% pledge.
• Sobeys has made no progress in four years, remaining at just 17%–18%.
• According to U.S. research, producing cage-free eggs costs only 19 cents more per dozen, yet cage-free options in Canada often carry significantly higher markups.

Top Performers

• Whole Foods Market: A (200 points)
• Save-On-Foods: C (68 points)
• Couche-Tard: C (60 points)

Failing Scores

• Loblaws: F (21 points)
• Sobeys: F (22.5 points)
• Costco: F (21.3 points)
• Farm Boy, Calgary Co-op, IGA, Safeway, Nesters Market, Natures Fare Markets: F (zero points)

Since 2016, the share of hens in conventional cages has fallen 39 percentage points, but nearly all of that shift in housing has been to so-called enriched cages — systems that still deny birds the ability to walk more than a couple of steps, fully spread their wings or forage.

Major grocers cite cost as a barrier, yet their financial capacity tells another story: Loblaws ($61.14 billion annual revenue); Costco ($34.87 billion); Empire Co., parent company of Sobeys, Longo's, Safeway and Farm Boy ($30.7 billion); and Metro ($21.84 billion) all have the means to lead. Mercy For Animals calls on these companies to honour their nearly decade-old commitments and urgently complete the transition to 100% cage-free eggs.

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Jessica Bohrson at press@mercyforanimals.org.

Mercy For Animals is a leading international nonprofit working to end industrial animal agriculture by constructing a just and sustainable food system. Active in Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, Southeast Asia and the United States, the organization has conducted over 100 investigations of factory farms and slaughterhouses, influenced over 500 corporate policies and helped pass historic legislation to ban cages for farmed animals. Learn more at MercyForAnimals.org.

SOURCE Mercy For Animals