By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Celebrating love, gratitude and togetherness is what we enjoy most about Thanksgiving in the U.S. For those who advocate for farmed animals, the meal at the center of this holiday can be a difficult reminder of how some cultural traditions can be so difficult to change.
It’s public knowledge that all over the world, farmed animals suffer some of the cruelest treatment there is, and people are increasingly concerned about how farmed animals are treated. It’s also why we work in multiple ways to change the food system. On the one hand, we work to reduce the suffering of animals who are already in the supply chain. On the other, we promote plant-based alternatives to prevent more animals from having to experience such cruelty in the future, and we tout plant-based diets’ benefits to public health and the environment.
That’s why we want to start our own tradition, celebrating the progress we’ve made for farm animals all over the world and giving thanks for that. It has certainly been a memorable year in advancing the protection of farm animals. Here are just some of the wins from around the world over this past year:
Ending the cage age
In the U.S., because of our groundbreaking campaigns with allied organizations, the percentage of cage-free eggs in the U.S. hit a new record high this year. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, roughly 41% of hens used for eggs—equal to approximately 123 million hens—are now cage-free; just over 10 years ago, the percentage of the egg industry that was cage-free was in single digits.
On the heels of Arcos Dorados (McDonald’s in Latin America) fully implementing their commitment in Brazil for cage-free egg procurement in 2023, McDonald’s announced it now uses 100% cage-free eggs at all U.S. locations. Aramark, the largest food management provider in North America, reported that in the U.S., 83% of eggs purchased are now cage-free, impacting more than 560,000 hens. The company aims to reach 100% cage-free globally in 2025.
Some of the world’s largest corporations honored their commitments to adopt higher welfare cage- and crate-free supply chains, thanks in large part to our continued work and pressure.
During 2024, we secured commitments from nearly a dozen national and multi-national companies to only use eggs from hens no longer confined to cages, and we helped more than 40 companies work toward implementing higher welfare procurement policies for hens in egg production and mother pigs. Our expertise in animal welfare and our presence on the ground in more than a dozen countries means we are in a prime position to help global companies such as Marriott International meet their deadlines to improve farm animal welfare in their supply chains.
Our advocacy for companies to change their supply chains, coupled with our technical expertise, has helped to drive real change for animals on the ground. The second largest egg producer in the world, Proan, expanded its cage-free production to meet the demand from some of the largest global companies. In Brazil, we secured a commitment from the largest independent pig producer in the country to reduce confinement time in gestation crates, impacting over 40,000 sows. Further, we helped eight egg producers in Malaysia, Viet Nam and Mexico transform their systems by adding cage-free housing for hens to meet the market’s growing demand. Now, nearly 80,000 hens will be cage-free in Malaysia, Viet Nam, and Mexico because of our work with farms to improve welfare.
We also helped seven financial institutions adopt or update their public-facing policies to include farm animal welfare, citing the use of cages and crates as a material risk. One way this made a real difference was in Malaysia, where a government-owned bank offered a below-market financing rate to build the country’s first cage-free aviary for egg-laying hens. This was the first time that government funds in Malaysia were used to improve animal welfare.
Encouraging progress for animals at corporations and in public policy
We also work hard to hold companies accountable when they fall short of stated commitments to do better for farm animals. This fall, for example, we launched a campaign calling on Target to follow through with its cage-free and crate-free commitments for egg-laying hens and pregnant pigs. In addition, our Animal Protection Law department at the HSUS asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the largest meat and poultry company in the world, JBS—and its subsidiary, Pilgrim’s Pride—for allegedly misleading investors about how they treat animals and about their climate and environmental impacts. We’re also pressuring Ahold Delhaize, a grocery corporation that owns Giant, Stop & Shop, Food Lion and Hannaford, to honor failed pledges on animal welfare.
We bring this kind of determination to halls of power, both private and public. A campaign of more than 50 years finally achieved victory in April when Great Britain banned live animal exports for fattening and slaughter. The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act will spare millions of animals from long, stressful journeys that cause suffering, exhaustion and death. The law is the culmination of relentless efforts by animal advocates around the UK, and the world, including Humane Society International/UK.
Defending legal progress for farmed animals
In the U.S., even after the Supreme Court upheld the nation’s strongest farm animal welfare law, California’s Proposition 12, in 2023, we knew we’d have to continue to defend it from insidious tactics led by some pork industry insiders. Our Animal Protection Law attorneys defended both Proposition 12 and the similar Massachusetts Question 3 in two further legal challenges. In June 2024, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision upholding Proposition 12 against a challenge by the Iowa Pork Producers Association. And in July 2024, a federal court in Boston upheld Question 3 against a similar challenge by Triumph Foods. These wins once again affirm the constitutionality of state laws that keep cruel and unsafe products off store shelves. Similar laws have been passed in 15 states, and many pork producers have already converted to less intensive confinement systems for animal housing.
But the attacks on state laws persist, not only in the courts, but in the halls of Congress, where a major threat came this year in the form of language in the House version of the Farm Bill designed to wipe out Proposition 12 and laws like it. This language was pushed by lobbyists who represent a backward-facing segment of the pork industry. In response, we have worked with our partners, including more than 6,000 entities—organizations, individuals and nearly 5,000 farmers across the country—to defend Proposition 12 and other state and local animal welfare laws. The fight will continue into the new year, so if you haven’t already, we encourage you to reach out to your legislator and urge them to oppose the Proposition 12 "fix."
Changing the menu
Transforming the food service industry is essential for the kind of humane world we seek to create. This involves showing institutions in the sector all the benefits of purchasing and serving more plant-based foods and fewer animal products. In 2024, this resulted in a shift in the U.S. to 8 million plant-based meals offered daily, or 2.8 billion plant-based meals annually. In Asia, Africa, India, Canada and Latin America, we secured new commitments that will transition more than 700,000 meals every year to plant-based; and as part of our ongoing work to implement commitments, we equipped more than 520 chefs with the skills to create delicious plant-based meals; and presented to nearly 200 educators, nutritionists and staff on the benefits of plant-based eating. This includes continued trainings in the Brazilian cities of Salvador, Sobral, Belém and Belo Horizonte which, combined, will deliver an estimated 32 million plant-based meals per year once fully implemented. Salvador has fully implemented its plant-based program in all municipal schools since 2022.
The institutions that have made plant-based commitments with our support include:
- In Canada, Toronto’s Shelter, Support & Housing Administration committed to transition 20% of meals served to plant-based.
- The University of Texas at Austin celebrated reaching its goal of serving 50% plant-based meals across its campus menus. This means more than 2,000 served meals are plant-based each day.
- In Thailand, Centara Koh Chang Tropicana Resort, part of Thailand’s leading hotel group, committed to transition 20% of meals served to fully plant-based, amounting to 21,900 meals replaced every year and sparing more than 1,000 animals annually.
- UCLA, Western Oregon University, Berkeley Unified School District in California and the Public Schools of Brookline, Massachusetts, all committed to serving 50% plant-based menus by 2027, which will affect 39,000 daily meals.
- In India, four institutions committed to reduce their procurement of dairy, amounting to a dairy reduction of 12,240 liters of milk annually—not only helping animals but also reducing climate emissions by 100,000 km per year—the equivalent of driving around the earth 2.5 times.
- Trenton Special School District in Tennessee and The Northshore School District in Washington both became the first school districts in their states to pledge to serve more plant-based meals, impacting over 11,000 meals daily.
Our team of chefs and culinary experts works directly with the industry, training chefs and developing delicious plant-based recipes and menus. Our success in getting more food service providers to offer plant-based menu items is due largely to this team’s efforts.
Giving thanks this holiday
As we approach Thanksgiving in the U.S., many of our food service partners are including more delicious, plant-based options—and you can too. See below for some tips from our team of chefs about their go-to dishes or easy swaps with the holiday in mind:
- Starting with a warm and cozy soup is always a great idea. Here are some of our favorites: Fire Roasted Corn Chowder, Butternut Squash Soup and Sweet Potato Vegetable Soup.
- Some classic Thanksgiving sides can be easily made egg- and dairy-free. Think: roasted sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and biscuits! It’s easy to swap out the milk and butter for plant-based ingredients.
- No Thanksgiving is complete without ending on a sweet note. In your pecan pie, use a flax egg, which is one tablespoon of ground flax seeds and three tablespoons of water. Try using coconut milk and cornstarch in your pumpkin pie instead of cow’s milk and egg.
- For plant-based main dishes, more and more options are available to buy, such as a vegetable- or seitan-based roast that is rich and savory. Alternatively, if you want to make something from scratch, consider one of these showstoppers: vegetable wellington or a harvest vegetable pot pie.
Our teams work to create a better world for the animals in our communities who often suffer horrific treatment. This holiday season, we are immensely thankful for those efforts. Our determination to use a multipronged approach to create a more humane world for farmed animals will never falter. And that’s something to celebrate.
Kitty Block is CEO of the Humane Society of the United States
