MetroMart, the Philippines’ largest e-commerce grocery delivery platform, recently won praise from US-based global NGO Lever Foundation for its commitment to source and sell only cage-free eggs nationwide by 2025.
MetroMart has been actively promoting sustainability initiatives by using banners on its platform to raise public awareness on environmental issues and offering promotional discounts for ethical and sustainable products.
MetroMart’s e-commerce platform connects consumers with local supermarkets and retailers, including The Marketplace, Marks & Spencer, Landmark and AllDay Supermarket. The company delivers throughout the Manila and Cebu regions, with plans to expand nationwide.
Numerous studies have found cage-free eggs to be safer and have more vitamins, minerals and a better nutritional profile than caged eggs. Research by the European Food Safety Authority and others has found that cage-free egg farms are up to 25 times less likely to be contaminated with key strains of salmonella compared with farms in caged systems. Hens raised in cage-free systems enjoy better bone health and are free to move and express their natural behavior such as foraging, dust-bathing, flying and nesting.
“MetroMart is committed to selling high-quality, safe and humane food products. We’re pleased to share our new policy of selling only cage-free eggs to consumers on our platform by 2025, and we look forward to working closely with our partners to achieve that goal,” said Evreem Fortich, MetroMart Chief Operating Officer and ambassador.
“We applaud MetroMart for its commitment on this important issue. This initiative will surely benefit their customers through better food safety and quality while also improving the welfare of animals in its supply chain. With e-commerce leaders such as MetroMart rising in popularity and importance during the pandemic, the company’s commitment to socially responsible policies that benefit the community sets a stellar example for other retailers and food brands,” said Robyn del Rosario, Sustainability Program manager at Lever Foundation, which worked with MetroMart on its pledge.
Leading animal protection and food safety organizations around the world encourage a switch to cage-free eggs, which are less cruel to animals and safer for consumers. On caged egg farms, each egg-laying hen is confined for nearly her entire life in a cage so small she can barely turn around. Battery cage egg production has been banned throughout the European Union as well as in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Canada, India and parts of the United States.
In recent years, a growing list of restaurant, hospitality, retail and packaged foods brands in the Philippines, including KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Marriott, Nestle and Unilever, have pledged to use only cage-free eggs. MetroMart is the first retailer in the Philippines and the first online grocery delivery platform in Asia to make the same pledge.
