JJ Fleeman has worked for companies in the Ahold Delhaize brand portfolio for 35 years. He has held various leadership positions, serving as VP of Strategy, Business Planning & Development at Food Lion; President of Peapod Digital Labs; and his current role, which he took in 2023, CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA. While he claims that sustainability is important, reflecting that his “purpose as a leader is to help create the foundation for teams in each of our U.S. companies to succeed day in and day out,” his company has failed to fulfill its ESG commitment to go cage-free.
Ahold Delhaize lied when it said nearly a decade ago—before its brands merged into the company it is today—that it would go cage-free. It did not go cage-free and now says it won't actually get rid of caged eggs until 2032. Ahold Delhaize is only 100% cage-free in states where it’s legally required, such as Massachusetts. The company continues to sell eggs that come from extremely cruel, dirty, and inhumane conditions in states where it’s not illegal to do so. Consumers are outraged and want Ahold Delhaize to take its sustainability commitment seriously and follow through on its promise to stop supporting the cruel caging of egg-laying hens. Breaking a cage-free egg commitment isn’t just morally reprehensible, it’s bad for business.
As consumers—and Ahold Delhaize’s own leaders—know, making a promise is not the same as making good on a promise.
While JJ talks about innovation, the hens in Ahold Delhaize’s supply chain are stuck in the same old tiny, barren cages. They cannot dust-bathe or express most of their natural behaviors. Their fragile bones often break from being crammed together, and the relentless stress of confinement leads to profound mental anguish, evident in repetitive, abnormal behaviors. Each hen is unable even to spread her wings, and she only has as much space as the size of a sheet of paper within which to live her entire, miserable life. Ahold Delhaize claims to be “a passionate supporter of the well-being and welfare of farm animals,” yet its brands continue to support a practice so cruel that many states have made it illegal.
True leadership means acting with integrity everywhere, not just where the law requires it. That’s why we’re calling on JJ to lead Ahold Delhaize in going 100% cage-free across all its stores.
Will JJ Fleeman choose to do the right thing and encourage his fellow leaders to ensure Ahold Delhaize fulfills its cage-free egg commitment, or will he continue to let his company fail to fulfill its sustainability pledge?
Click “Take Action” below to tell JJ Fleeman that consumers demand accountability and animals deserve better. Now is the time to demonstrate true leadership by showing the world that Ahold Delhaize is committed to upholding its promises and ending the abuse of animals in its supply chain.