A new children’s book launched on Wednesday features Dutch-Belgian supermarket group Ahold Delhaize as the villain in a fairy tale for keeping chickens in cages.
Ahold Delhaize had promised to stop selling eggs from chickens who are kept in small cages.
The book, titled Cocotte and King Delhaize, was released by the International Council for Animal Welfare (ICAW).
It tells the story of Cocotte, a hen who questions the powerful King Delhaize, a character based on the supermarket chain, for locking animals in cages.
Ahold Delhaize
The campaign criticizes Ahold Delhaize for postponing its promise to sell only cage-free eggs by 2025. This means millions of hens will continue to suffer in cruel conditions.
The supermarket group owns well-known chains in Europe and the United States, including Albert Heijn, Delhaize, Etos and Gall & Gall.
In 2016, Ahold Delhaize USA said it would go cage-free by 2022. In 2019, the company promised 100% cage-free eggs globally by 2025.
The company delayed the goal by seven years in December 2024.
The book campaign launched with support from 12 public figures, including Dutch actor Elindo Avastia, known from Frozen the Musical, and Belgian radio host Laure Fornier.
“There are still billions of hens around the world living in miserable conditions in factory farms. That has to stop,” Avastia said.
The book will be shared online, in stores, and sent to Ahold Delhaize CEO Frans Muller and the CEOs of its sub-brands.
Animal rights groups also organized protests on Wednesday outside Ahold Delhaize’s headquarters in Zaandam, Netherlands.
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