Bob Evans: Not As "Farm Fresh" As You Think

by Meredith Slater · 2011-07-26 08:53:00 UTC
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Back in the day when the real Bob Evans was around, he and his wife, Jewell, raised their six kids in a large, brick farmhouse that they affectionately called "Homestead." It was here that the family opened a sausage shop in their front yard and later went on to open the first Bob Evans Restaurant and General Store.

This story, along with snapshots of the original farmhouse, are the pictures that the Bob Evans restaurant chain paints for you when you visit the company's Web site. The company even boasts that by eating at its establishments, you can "discover farm-fresh goodness."

So you may be shocked to learn that the eggs Bob Evans uses in its food come from hens who don't roam freely on a farm. Rather, the chain sources its eggs from hens that are crammed inside teeny cages, forced to live their lives in a space no bigger than an 8x10 sheet of notebook paper.

Recently, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) asked Bob Evans Restaurant to allow its shareholders to vote on a proposal that would phase in the use of cage-free eggs in the company's restaurants. Bob Evans execs apparently didn't think that was such a great idea. Instead, the restaurant chain petitioned the SEC for permission to block the proposal. Unfortunately for Bob Evans (but quite fortunately for the caged hens who provide eggs for the chain), the SEC denied that request.

In the letter that the SEC wrote siding with the Humane Society, officials were unequivocal, stating four times in the ruling that the Commission was "unable to concur" with Bob Evans and did not "believe that Bob Evans Farms may omit the proposal from its proxy materials."

"Shareholders have a right to know that all the eggs sold at Bob Evans come from hens who live miserable lives crammed inside cages," said Josh Balk, director of corporate policy for the HSUS' farm animal protection campaign. "It's time for Bob Evans to take a meaningful and practical step in the right direction by phasing in cage-free eggs."

Competitors such as Denny's, Burger King, Hardee's, and Carl's Jr. have already begun to use cage-free eggs. In fact, Bob Evans is one of the only major restaurant chains that continues to use only eggs from chickens confined in battery cages.

Now that the SEC has made its ruling, it's time to pressure Bob Evans to shape up its act. Sign our petition, and tell Bob Evans execs that it’s time to phase in cage-free eggs.

Photo Credit: bsabarnowl via Flickr

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