Panera To Use 100 Percent Cage-Free Eggs And Pork From Gestation Crate-Free Pigs

Panera will be transitioning to use 100 percent gestation crate-free pigs for their pork products and antibiotic-free meat by the end of 2015, and 100 percent cage-free eggs by the end of 2020.

By the end of this year, none of the chicken and turkey used will contain antibiotics, and 89 percent of the beef used witll be the grass-fed and free-range, according to Food Business News. Pigs used will follow strictly vegetarian diets.

Panera, which goes through more than 120 million eggs a year, will be switching all of their eggs to cage-free by 2020. This includes hard-boiled, liquid egg whites, and eggs used in soufflés and dressings.

The company currently uses 21 percent cage-free eggs defining "cage-free" hens as those raised in indoor barns, with full range of movement.

"While there is more work to be done, we are within reach of a menu without antibiotics and unnecessary confinement," Ron Shaich, founder and CEO of Panera, told Food Business News.