Sao Paulo Restaurants Brado and Mestiço Promote More Humane Treatment of Farm Animals

Fonte: Humane Society International

Humane Society International applauds São Paulo-based restaurants Brado and Mestiço for taking a stand against the cruel confinement of egg-laying hens in battery cages by switching to cage-free eggs. Both restaurants have joined a growing number of food retailers in Brazil and throughout the world that are improving the lives of farm animals by adopting cage-free procurement policies.

Battery cages are among the most inhumane factory farming abuses. Each hen is given less space than a single sheet of letter-sized paper on which to live her entire life. Hens are unable to engage in many of their most important natural behaviors, including walking, perching, dust bathing, and laying eggs in a nest.

“By switching to cage-free eggs, Brado and Mestiço are improving the lives of animals and taking a stand against the cruel practice of confining hens in battery cages,” said Guilherme Carvalho, HSI’s campaign manager in Brazil. “Humane Society International applauds Brado and Mestiço and looks forward to working with other restaurants and companies in São Paulo on similar cage-free policies.”

Brado and Mestico’s decisions are in line with their concerns for animal welfare and human health.

“The brand of cage-free eggs that we use does not contain any chemical residues, which may be found in conventional eggs,” said Pedro Vita, Brado’s head chef. “We also believe that the energy from the animals is transferred to the food. If the animal is raised in an extremely negative environment, that energy will somehow be transferred to consumers. That’s why we are using cage-free eggs.”

“We promote animal welfare and that is something that our clients also support,” said Vivian Bausas, Mestiço’s nutritionist. “We have to take into account not only food quality, but also where the food comes from and how it is produced. By using cage-free eggs, specifically organic eggs, we are also addressing our concerns about the health of our clients.”

Facts

More than 90 percent of eggs in Brazil are produced by birds who spend almost their entire lives confined in small battery cages. More than 70 million hens are living in these conditions at any given time in the country.
While cage-free does not mean cruelty-free, cage-free hens generally have two to three times more space per bird than and are able to act more naturally than caged hens. Cage-free hens may not be able to go outside, but they are able to walk, spread their wings and lay their eggs in nests—all behaviors denied to hens confined in battery cages.