Ahold Delhaize's 2025 cage-free deadline has arrived, and instead of honoring its word, the company has pushed its commitment back another seven years. This delay leaves millions of hens trapped in cramped wire cages—denied the ability to spread their wings or engage in even the most basic natural behaviors.
The decision to postpone isn't just a broken promise. It shows a failure of oversight and responsibility at the highest levels of the company.
As Chair of the Supervisory Board, Wiebe Draijer has a duty to ensure Ahold Delhaize meets its obligations to both animals and consumers. His leadership can help steer the company toward meaningful action—but right now, that leadership is missing.
Battery cages have been banned across the European Union and outlawed in multiple U.S. states because of their extreme cruelty. Yet Ahold Delhaize continues to allow them in its U.S. supply chain, even as competitors move forward and customers demand better.
This is a pivotal moment for the Supervisory Board. By failing to act, Draijer allows animal suffering to continue, undermines consumer trust, and damages Ahold Delhaize's credibility as a responsible global retailer.
It's time for the company's leadership to deliver a real, time-bound plan to eliminate cages from its supply chain—not more delays, not more empty promises.
Add your name to call on Wiebe Draijer and the Supervisory Board to finally put an end to cage cruelty.
Dear Wiebe Draijer,
As the new Chair of Ahold Delhaize's Supervisory Board, you have stepped into this role at a pivotal moment. One of the company's longest-standing animal welfare commitments—to eliminate cages from its U.S. egg supply chain by 2025—has just been delayed by seven more years. This reversal leaves millions of hens trapped in tiny wire cages, suffering every single day.
This is more than a scheduling change. It represents a profound failure to honor consumer trust and a departure from the company's stated values on animal welfare.
With your leadership, the Supervisory Board has the opportunity—and responsibility—to ensure Ahold Delhaize does better. Yet today, the company continues to sell eggs from battery cages at its U.S. banners, including Hannaford, Food Lion, and Stop & Shop, even though these cruel systems have been banned in multiple U.S. states and across the European Union.
Ahold Delhaize has publicly endorsed the "Five Freedoms" and "Five Domains" of animal welfare, but the hens in its supply chain are denied even the most basic of them—unable to spread their wings, nest, or dust bathe. Empty promises and extended timelines don't reduce suffering; they only prolong it. As Chair, you have the chance to set a new tone of accountability and ensure the company delivers on its commitments. Ahold Delhaize cannot continue to brand itself as a responsible global retailer while keeping hens confined in cages for years to come.
It's time for decisive leadership. Public commitments require public accountability. End the delays. End the excuses. End the cages.
Signed,
[Name]
