Ahold Delhaize, one of America’s largest grocery retailers and owner of Hannaford, Food Lion, Giant, and Stop & Shop, is facing questions from its own employees and watchdog groups about its commitment to animal welfare goals. This is due to recent news from the company signalling it will not meet previously announced deadlines for specific supply chain improvements.
The concerns center on two controversial agricultural practices: housing egg-laying hens in cages and confining breeding pigs in gestation crates – that is, metal enclosures that restrict animals from turning around or taking more than a step forward or backward. These practices have faced increased scrutiny over the past decades, with dozens of countries and numerous US states enacting bans. Major retailers and restaurants, including Costco, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Kroger, have committed to eliminating one or both practices from their supply chains.
The Netherlands-based company, which operates more than 2,000 stores across the United States, committed in 2016 to transition all private label eggs to cage-free by 2022 and all eggs by 2025. It also pledged to phase out gestation crate pork by 2025. However, in its latest ESG report, Ahold Delhaize indicated it will not meet these targets, citing supply chain and availability issues.
Revised targets recently announced
The company has today announced revised targets on the two animal welfare issues. Namely, Ahold Delhaize aims to achieve 70% cage-free eggs by 2030 and 100% by 2032, along with a complete transition to group-housed pork by 2028.
“Beginning in 2025, Ahold Delhaize USA will pilot signage to distinguish cage-free eggs for customers, with the intention to apply learnings from the pilot going forward,” the company announced. “To show our strong commitment to forward progress, we will continue to evaluate and modify shelled egg assortments in each of our brands, starting in 2025, by increasing the percent of cage-free SKUs while decreasing caged SKUs for both private brand and national brand shelled eggs.”
Several current and former employees, also speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, expressed concerns about the delays. “The merchandising team knows we could meet targets for 100% cage-free eggs and [group-housed] pork within the next couple years if leadership wanted it,” an Ahold Delhaize employee with direct knowledge of the situation reportedly told sources.
A former employee familiar with the company’s ESG work reportedly voiced concerns about “greenwashing” and alleged the company is likely setting new targets to “kick the can down the road” and avoid reputational harm while chasing favoring headlines. Corporate watchdogs suggested the revised goals are an indeed an example of greenwashing, a PR-driven strategy designed to appease critics without making actual changes.
“As a leader in grocery retail, we take seriously the role our companies play in sustainability and driving more sustainable outcomes,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Marc Stolzman, speaking of the revised targets. “As with many complex sustainability topics, we recognize that obstacles remain; yet we remain committed to working with other key stakeholders to advance progress on this journey, as we know achieving our ambition requires deep collaboration, as well as innovation in the supply chain and affordability for customers.”
The company’s CEO Frans Muller and Ahold Delhaize USA CEO JJ Fleeman were contacted with questions for this story but declined to comment.
Different standards across markets
The company’s practices in the United States contrast with its operations in the Netherlands, where its Albert Heijn stores have already eliminated caged eggs and made significant progress on eliminating gestation crates.
A recent analysis by Data For Progress of Ahold Delhaize customers in the United States found that many shoppers misinterpret the stores’ egg carton labeling, often mistaking eggs from caged hens as cage-free. The study also indicated customers would be more likely to purchase the company’s private-label eggs if they were exclusively cage-free.
The company cited “availability within the supply chain” as a critical factor to achieve this progress, and that strong collaboration with “partners, farmers, suppliers and customers” were necessary. Multiple US egg and pork suppliers, speaking anonymously to protect business relationships, confirmed that adequate supplies of cage-free eggs and group-housed pork products are available to major grocers, including banners owned by Ahold Delhaize.
Food safety experts contend caged eggs pose a risk to public health. According to the Center for Food Safety, eggs from caged hens are 25 times more likely to harbor Salmonella than cage-free eggs. A 2023 North Carolina State University study ranked eggs from caged hens lowest in quality measures. Similarly, the American Public Health Association has flagged pork from gestation crates as a significant food safety risk.
Board members face pressure
The controversy has drawn attention to Ahold Delhaize’s supervisory board members, including Julia Vander Ploeg, who serves as an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern University, as well as Katie Doyle and Laura Miller, who sit on several corporate and nonprofit boards. When contacted about the company’s animal welfare controversy, Vander Ploeg, Doyle, and Miller declined to comment.
Taylor Warren, president of the Center for Responsible Food Business, a nonprofit focused on corporate responsibility in the food sector, called for greater accountability. “This isn’t just a greenwashing issue,” Warren said. “It’s about holding decision makers accountable when they fail to align their actions with the values they claim to uphold.”
Warren’s organization has targeted the board members with billboards, including one circling through Northwestern University’s campus calling for Vander Ploeg’s resignation. The Center is also currently reaching out to trustees and university donors, Warren said. A second billboard ran in downtown Chicago, calling on Doyle and her business affiliations, including League and Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, to act.
As other major retailers like Costco report progress toward similar goals – with Costco achieving 92% cage-free egg sales in fiscal year 2023 – Ahold Delhaize’s revised timeline will likely face continued scrutiny from stakeholders and internal champions on this issue.
For now, Ahold Delhaize’s updated goals are poised to attract significant scrutiny from stakeholders, corporate watchdog groups, consumers, and employees. As the company navigates these challenges, the trustworthiness of its commitments and the alignment of its actions with its stated values will remain under close observation.
