At Whole Foods Market, we’re doing more for the hens that are doing so much for us. All the eggs in our dairy cases and our own kitchens must be cage free or better. Because when chickens behave naturally, they naturally lay great eggs.
Let’s Get Real About Eggs
We go above and beyond to make shopping for better eggs in our stores easy for you. When it comes to better welfare for our birds, we’ve been ahead of the curve for nearly two decades:
2004: We began selling only cage-free eggs in our dairy cases.
2005: We went cage-free in our own kitchens and bakeries.
2017: All 365 by Whole Foods Market carton eggs must meet animal welfare standards for laying hens.
2020: All eggs in our U.S. dairy cases must meet animal welfare standards for laying hens, which include these basic requirements:
Hens have room to roam and scratch about
No antibiotics given to hens
No land-animal by-products in hen feed
Nests and perches for hens to roost at night
Hens provided with foraging opportunities
Animal Welfare Standards for Laying Hens
We developed animal welfare standards for laying hens after more than 500 visits to laying farms and consultations with farmers, poultry geneticists, pullet growers and animal welfare scientists. The standards are designed to improve the level of animal welfare and meet the expectations of our customers.
All eggs in our U.S. dairy cases are tagged with one of these three logos that indicate how the chickens live.
Cage-Free Plus
Birds must be able to move about freely indoors with amenities that support their natural behaviors.
Outdoor Access
Birds must have seasonal access to an outdoor area that is at least equivalent to the indoor area of the house.
Pasture Raised
Birds must have year-round access to an outdoor area with rooted vegetative cover.
Our Three Production Systems
Based on geography, climate and their farm’s unique environment, farmers choose which production system best suits their situation. Each of these production systems meets the basic animal welfare requirements above, plus additional requirements specific to its system.
Watch a video about our Egg Standards. opens in a new tab
Cage-Free Plus
For the Cage-Free Plus label, we require that hens have living conditions to support natural behaviors, such as dust bathing and foraging. Hens are given space to move about the house freely, are provided with perches for roosting at night (their preferred sleeping method), have places to shelter from aggressive hens, and are provided bedding material on the floor. They might live entirely in housing or have access to an outdoor area.
Outdoor Access
All Cage-Free Plus standards must be met for the Outdoor Access label. In addition, for this label we require an area outside the barn that is at least as big as the space inside. There must be adequate openings in the barn for the hens to move easily between indoors and outdoors. Water must be provided outdoors. Shade and cover has to accommodate at least 25% of the birds in the flock and be visible from the doors of the house so the hens see that they can get to sheltered areas while foraging.
Pasture Raised
The Pasture Raised label is for hens that have access to pasture all day throughout the year. There must be sufficient cover/shade to accommodate 50% of the flock. The cover/shade must be visible from the doors of the house. The outdoor area must have rooted vegetative cover so the hens can forage productively.
See complete Animal Welfare Standards for Laying Hens. opens in a new tab
Substantiation Required!
In our Dairy department, all carton and liquid eggs must meet animal welfare standards for laying hens and either carry a Whole Foods Market-approved third-party animal welfare certification or be third-party audited to our Animal Welfare Standards for Laying Hens.
To support and encourage producers who are committed to good animal-welfare practices, we offer several options for this requirement. This enables farms of different scales and sizes to choose the substantiation program that best complements their location and system.
The following third-party animal welfare certifications have been carefully vetted and approved for egg-laying hens by Whole Foods Market.
Regenerative Organic Certified
Accepted for Cage-Free Plus, Outdoor Access and Pasture Raised production systems
G.A.P. Animal Welfare Certified
Step 1 or Step 2 accepted for Cage-Free Plus, Step 3 accepted for Outdoor Access and Step 4 (and higher) accepted for Pasture Raised production systems
USDA Organic
Accepted for Cage-Free Plus and Outdoor Access production systems
