This is an advocacy campaign by ICAW. We are not affiliated with Ahold Delhaize or its subsidiary companies.

Meet the Ahold Delhaize Executives

Who Choose Cruelty Over Commitments

In 2016, Ahold Delhaize  publicly committed to eliminate battery cages from their US supply chain by 2025. These cages confine hens to spaces so small they cannot spread their wings. Imagine living your entire life unable to move, surrounded by metal bars. The suffering is so extreme that these cages are banned across Europe and in several US states.

In December 2024, when Ahold Delhaize's self-imposed deadline was approaching, the company pushed it back to 2032—hoping no one would notice their betrayal of consumers and animals alike. While McDonald's, Taco Bell, and countless other companies honored identical commitments, Ahold Delhaize chose corporate profits over ending this torture.

Images representative of a typical battery cage facility

A Timeline of Corporate Deception

The Corporate Leadership
Responsible for This Failure

Some of the most influential Ahold Delhaize executives and board members who oversee these broken promises and deliberate delays include:

C-Suite & Leadership:

  • Frans Muller (Chief Executive Officer)

  • JJ Fleeman (Chief Executive Officer, USA)

  • Jolanda Poots-Bijl (Chief Financial Officer)

  • Ben Wishart (Chief Information Officer)

  • Alex Holt (Chief Sustainability Officer)

Brand Presidents:

  • Roger Wheeler (President, Stop & Shop)

  • John Ruane (President, Giant Company)

  • Greg Finchum (President, Food Lion)

  • Mike Vail (President, Hannaford)

  • Ira Kress (President, Giant Food)

Board of Directors:

  • Katie Doyle (Chair of the Board)

  • Laura Miller (Board Member)

  • Julia Vander Ploeg (Board Member)

  • Pauline van der Meer Mohr (Board Member)

  • Jan Zijderveld (Board Member)

  • Helen Weir (Board Member)

  • Frank van Zanten (Board Member)

  • Robert Jan van de Kraats (Board Member)

  • Weibe Draijer (Board Member)

  • Per Bank (Board Member)

These corporate leaders are not passive observers of animal cruelty—they are the decision-makers who have been repeatedly presented with evidence of suffering in their supply chain and have consistently chosen to prioritize profits over promises. Each of these executives could speak out against this systematic animal abuse. The company simply refuses to act.

Ahold Delhaize's Strategy

Delay, Deceive, Profit.

While Ahold Delhaize stalls for another 7 years, competing companies have proven cage-free transitions are entirely achievable. The company's own European operations have moved away from the most extreme confinement systems, proving Ahold Delhaize knows exactly how to make these changes, they simply choose not to in America.

This isn't about feasibility. This is about a company that would rather let animals suffer in agony than spend money to honor promises they made to consumers.

The Reality of Battery Cages

  • Hens in cages suffer from limited space and restricted movement, which prevents them from engaging in natural behaviors and leads to high stress and frustration. Studies also indicate that caged hens have higher rates of Salmonella, a leading cause of foodborne illness and are more prone to disease than hens in systems that allow for greater mobility and expression of natural behaviors.

  • Each hen in a battery cage is given only 67-86 square inches of space—less than the size of a sheet of paper—leaving them unable to spread their wings or move naturally.

  • Hens are unable to perch, nest, dust-bathe, or forage, causing severe psychological distress and unnatural, repetitive stress behaviors.

  • Wire cage floors cause painful foot disorders, overgrown claws, and open lesions, while sloped designs lead to chronic discomfort and injuries.

  • Battery cages deny hens their natural behaviors, such as scratching, nesting, and foraging, leading to chronic stress, frustration, and harmful repetitive behaviors.

  • To maximize egg production, hens undergo forced molting by withholding food and water, causing severe stress, feather loss, and long-term health issues, including paralysis and death from dehydration.

  • Hens are subjected to constant artificial light to extend egg-laying periods, disrupting their natural cycles and contributing to bone fragility and overall poor health.

  • While the EU banned battery cages in 2012, Hannaford’s parent company, Ahold Delhaize, has pushed the cage-free egg deadline from 2025 to 2032, allowing millions of hens in the U.S. to continue suffering for years to come.

About This Campaign This corporate accountability campaign is run by the International Council for Animal Welfare (ICAW),

a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the worst forms of animal cruelty in corporate supply chains.