Brad Pitt had some harsh words for Costco, but not because he wishes they sold smaller boxes of cereal. He complained about chickens being kept in small cages while producing the eggs they sell.
“As you know, these birds producing eggs for your shelves are crammed five or more into cages that are not large enough for even one hen to spread her wings,” Pitt wrote in a letter to the retailer, notes The New York Times. “In these cruel cages, the animals' muscles and bones atrophy from years of immobilization. That's why the cages are illegal in most of Europe, and why California banned the cages by an overwhelming vote years ago.”
Pitt noted that Whole Foods has already stopped selling eggs from caged hens and that forcing hens into small cages is “cruelty to animals.”
He did praise Costco for saying several years ago that it would stop selling eggs from caged hens, but is not happy that the retailer has yet to follow though.
“Nearly a decade ago, Costco indicated that its next step on this issue would be creating a timeline for getting those cages out of your egg supply, and yet today, you appear to have made no progress at all — even as you have set timelines for getting pigs and calves out of cages,” Pitt wrote.
The Moneyball star’s letter comes after Bill Maher wrote an op-ed for the New York Times in which the comedian also criticized Costco for not moving quickly on this issue.
“At Costco though, there’s no end in sight for this hideously outdated and cruel practice. A company that takes pride in its other socially conscious positions can do better than this,” Maher wrote.
Pitt and Maher have been speaking on behalf of Farm Security, which aims to stop animal cruelty at farms.
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