--- description: Starbucks has announced that all of its eggs will be cage-free by the year 2020. title: Starbucks Says Eggs Will Be Cage-Free by 2020 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74965eb17ab0723d/698866c70b72e36cd36e629a/starbucks.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Diet & Nutrition](/tag/dietnutrition/) ## Diet & Nutrition Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Starbucks Says Eggs Will Be Cage-Free by 2020 by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 3, 2015 2:46 PM CUT  A Starbucks in New York City, on July 21, 2015. A Starbucks in New York City, on July 21, 2015.Craig Warga—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 3, 2015 2:46 PM CUT Starbucks has announced that all of its eggs will be cage-free by the year 2020. The company’s plan is to have only cage-free eggs in its North American stores in five years, [it told Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/01/us-starbucks-eggs-idUSKCN0RV5HM20151001 "undefined"). Starbucks says it has been working on moving toward cage-free eggs since 2008. McDonald’s [recently made similar pledges](http://time.com/4026501/mcdonalds-cage-free/ "undefined"), saying it is going to be making the switch to cage-free eggs over the next decade. Burger King [has also made a cage-free commitment](http://time.com/4026501/mcdonalds-cage-free/ "undefined"), set to be met by 2017. The U.S. government defines “cage-free” as chickens having enough room to move around, though they may still be confined to cage. That change can lead to increasing costs for companies initially, Reuters says. As Jacob Koffler [writes for TIME](http://time.com/happier-chickens/ "undefined"), the transition to cage-free eggs has been a priority for both egg producers and activists for years, but efforts at a legislative solution have been stymied by opposition from pork and veal farmers who feared they too would face similar regulations. **_Read more_**_:_[ _Why We Need Happier Chickens_](http://time.com/happier-chickens/ "undefined") \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/01/us-starbucks-eggs-idUSKCN0RV5HM20151001 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4060385/starbucks-eggs-cage-free/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4060385/starbucks-eggs-cage-free/"},"headline":"Starbucks Says Eggs Will Be Cage-Free by 2020","datePublished":"2015-10-03T14:46:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:29:38.501Z","description":"A growing number of companies are making the transition","url":"https://time.com/4060385/starbucks-eggs-cage-free/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Starbucks","eggs"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74965eb17ab0723d/698866c70b72e36cd36e629a/starbucks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74965eb17ab0723d/698866c70b72e36cd36e629a/starbucks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"starbucks","caption":"Pedestrians stroll by a Starbucks Coffee shop on the corner of Broadway and East 17th Street in Union Square in New York, New York, U.S., on Tuesday, July 21, 2015. Photographer: Craig Warga/Bloomberg *** Local Caption ***","creditText":"Craig Warga—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4060385/starbucks-eggs-cage-free/","name":"Starbucks Says Eggs Will Be Cage-Free by 2020"}}]}] ```