QSR Magazine reports that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) scored a big victory this week when it announced a commitment from Subway to eventually use 100 percent cage-free eggs.

The commitment comes on the heels of Subway’s announcement that it will roll out a breakfast menu.

Matthew Prescott, corporate outreach director for the factory farming campaign at the HSUS, says there is no timetable yet on when Subway will reach 100 percent cage-free usage, but that the sandwich chain will start by using 4 percent.

“They’re starting with 4 percent cage-free eggs, which we can safely say will spare tens of thousands of birds from life inside a cage,” Prescott says. “When they reach 100 percent, it will put that figure in the hundreds of thousands.”

Other quick-serve chains have agreed to switch to using cage-free eggs, including Burger King, Wendy’s, and CKE Restaurants. Subway is the first to commit to using 100 percent cage-free eggs.

“It’s part of a growing trend of, not just companies starting to use cage-free eggs, which really started with Burger King in 2007 as far as major corporations go, but now we’re seeing this is a trend to do 100 percent,” Prescott says.

“Subway is the first [quick-serve] chain to commit to 100 percent, but in other sectors, just even over the last few weeks we’ve seen this.”

Read more at: QSR Magazine