End the cage age: Unilever and Nestlé petition to phase out caged hens in Europe Nestlé, Unilever and Mondelēz International are among the food majors calling for an EU-wide ‘phase out’ of caged hens in farming. An estimated 413 million laying hens are raised across the bloc, producing 6.9m tonnes of eggs or egg product per year. Average egg consumption is calculated at 12kg per capita per year. While progress has been made to improve welfare standards for laying hens in recent years, notably via the European Commission’s banning of battery-caged eggs under Directive 1999/74/EC in 2012, many in the food sector believe more can be done.