Lever Foundation, recently recognized Dairy Queen International, based in Minnesota, for its emphasis on sourcing cage-free eggs and egg ingredients for stores across the globe by 2025, according to a press release.
"Globally, we are committed to requiring suppliers of shell and liquid eggs and proprietary ingredients to use cage-free eggs by 2025," the company noted in its updated animal welfare policy. "In the U.S., 67% of shell eggs, liquid eggs and proprietary DQ ingredients that contain eggs have either converted to cage-free or were reformulated to remove egg as an ingredient. In Canada, 39% of shell eggs, liquid eggs and proprietary DQ ingredients that contain eggs have either converted to cage-free or were reformulated to remove egg as an ingredient…Worldwide, we are on track to meet our 2025 cage-free egg commitment."
The soft serve ice cream and QSR company operate more than 6,800 locations across 20 countries, including over 1,100 stores in China, 500 in Thailand, 100 in Mexico and nearly 100 in the Philippines. Additional locations have been established across Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
Dairy Queen International offers a catalog of sweet treats, including frozen foods like ice cream, as well as cakes, and lunch items, including burgers, sandwiches, and salads, among other products.
Its egg-free venture began in 2016 in the U.S. and Canada. Serving as its latest advancement, the new policy expands the company’s initiative to additional locations worldwide.
The company’s global catalog of QSR brands that have committed to sourcing cage-free eggs only include Burger King, Dunkin, KFC, Taco Bell, Baskin Robbins, Tim Hortons, Costa Coffee, Krispy Kreme, Sonic, Popeyes, Arby's, Jimmy Johns, Pizza Hut and Papa John's.
"We congratulate Dairy Queen on its expanded global cage-free egg policy, which will spare egg-laying hens around the world from intensive cage confinement," Kirsty Tuxford, corporate engagement manager at international NGO Lever Foundation, which worked with Dairy Queen on its new commitment, said. "With this latest pledge, two-thirds of the world's 25 largest international QSR chains have now committed to remove caged eggs from their global supply chains, including at all franchised and licensed locations."