Cage-free requirement rejected in Co-op vote

Calgary Co-op members have rejected a resolution calling for the retailer to sell only cage-free egg and pork products, a move that had support from animal welfare advocates but would have resulted in increased prices.

The motion, brought forward at Thursday’s annual general meeting, had the support of just 30 per cent of members in attendance. Sixty-two per cent of members voted against it, while eight per cent abstained.

The vote marked the second time the sourcing of eggs and pork has been debated by Calgary Co-op members. In 2013, the membership approved a resolution calling for the grocery chain to stop selling eggs and pork using intensive confinement cages, such as battery cages and gestation stalls, by 2018.

Thursday’s vote called on management — which has said a fiveyear phase-out of conventionally sourced products would be nearly impossible for its suppliers and would make eggs and pork significantly more expensive for custom-

I fundamentally don’t think that people have the right to something at the expense of cruelty.

ers — to “respect and honour” the outcome of that original vote.

Clint Robertson, the Co-op member behind both resolutions, said several members raised concerns about the impact a cage-free move would have on grocery budgets.

“I just didn’t know what to say to that, because I fundamentally don’t think that people have the right to something at the expense of cruelty,” he said.

Co-op has said that while it offers a larger selection of free-range eggs than it did in 2013 — as well as a new line of pork raised without the use of antibiotics or added hormones — removing conventionally-sourced, inexpensive products from its shelves entirely would push budget-conscious shoppers to the retailer’s competitors.

While Co-op would have been at the forefront of the cage-free movement if it had attempted to meet the resolution’s 2018 time frame, many grocery chains in North America have set commitments or targets toward that goal.

Co-op is a member of Federated Co-operatives Ltd., which belongs to the Retail Council of Canada and is one of a group of grocers — including Loblaw, Sobeys and Walmart — that has committed to transitioning to cage-free eggs by the end of 2025.