How I Learned to Love Shrimp Dawn Neo on the 4+ billion hens in cages in Asia and how we can help them
Dec 16, 2025
Dawn Neo, Director of Corporate Engagement at Global Food Partners, has a decade of experience advocating for animal welfare in Asia. She discusses the critical state of farm animal welfare, the stark reality of cage confinement, and the progress toward cage-free commitments by 2025. Dawn shares insights into cultural differences in advocacy, the challenges of informal markets, and the need for localized strategies. She highlights surprising advancements in countries like Thailand and the role of corporate commitments in driving change for a more humane food system.
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Asia Dominates Global Egg Production
- Asia produces and consumes a huge share of the world's eggs, with China alone housing about 3 billion layers.
- Most Asian countries still use battery/factory cages for 90–99% of layers, making Asia critical for global impact.
One Asia, Many Markets
- Country contexts vary widely: China, Thailand and the Philippines have large cage-free supply while Indonesia is highly fragmented with many smallholders.
- Strategy must be localized because production structure and market consolidation differ across countries.
Localize Support For Farmers
- Localize capacity building: provide training, materials and vets in local languages to help farmers transition to cage-free.
- Use cluster approaches targeting major production centers first to create scalable case studies.
