Design plans cover the well-worn conference table at Huat Lai Resources headquarters. Executives trace their fingers over the layouts— Malaysia’s newest and largest cage-free egg facility, constructed in the cleared-out shells of barns that previously housed countless hens in row after row of intensive battery cages. The idea of such a shift would have been laughed off just two years ago; now the numbers tell a different story.

At Huat Lai, old battery cages have become scrap metal. Two hundred thousand birds that previously would have sat huddled tightly together in those discarded cages now inhabit multi-tier aviaries with perches at different heights, nest boxes for laying, and scratching areas with rice hulls, transforming spaces that had never known the sound of flapping wings. Where supervisors once walked narrow aisles between towering battery cages, they now move through open spaces filled with the rustle of birds that are, while not living a great life, at least afforded freedom of movement and the ability to engage in natural behaviors like exploring, dust bathing and perching. It’s a transformation that was supported by a mutual understanding of the language both birds and businesses speak.

BUILDING TRUST THROUGH DATA

Mutzu Huang and Vilosha Sivaraman, Sustainability Program Managers at Lever Foundation, spent months working with Huat Lai’s managers before those blueprints ever reached the table.

“We focused on what mattered most to them— food safety, the production rates of cage-free layers, and growing corporate demand,” Mutzu explained. “We provided information on how cage-free could increase their brand value. When you can show them that major retailers are actively seeking cage-free suppliers and that demand is outpacing supply, that changes the entire conversation. We brought them concrete data on production systems, market trends, and what their potential customers were actually requesting. The business case had to be solid before we discussed something else.”

The approach was methodical. Detailed corporate demand projections were presented, showing the volumes needed by leading local retailers like Mydin, Jaya Grocer, AEON Malaysia and the Food Purveyor; hospitality groups like Sunway Hotels and Hatten Hotels; and restaurant chains such as Old Town White Coffee and O’Briens—all of which had pledged to end the use of eggs from industrial caged confinement operations.

“Retailers that had made improved animal protein sourcing policies were already asking Huat Lai for cage-free eggs, but they couldn’t supply them,” notes Vilosha. “We showed Huat Lai the contracts they were missing, the premium prices other producers were getting. That gap between demand and their current capacity—that’s what shifted the conversation from ‘why’ to ‘how fast can we do this.'”

The public health case proved equally compelling. Data from the European Food Safety Authority and over a dozen peer-reviewed studies show cage-free farms have up to 25 times lower rates of Salmonella contamination, and generate three to five times fewer cases of food poisoning compared to caged egg farms. Dense confinement in cage systems also facilitates transmission of highly pathogenic diseases and pandemics—a lesson COVID-19 made unforgettable.

Cage-free production also significantly reduces the suffering of the animals involved, an area which public surveys show is of increasing concern to young Asian consumers. A survey commissioned by Lever Foundation and conducted by leading Asia consumer research agency GMO Research found 77% of Malaysian consumers wanted food companies to remove industrial cage confinement systems from their supply chains. For a producer looking to sell to quality-conscious buyers, these aren’t just statistics—these are a competitive advantage.

SCALING SUCCESS ACROSS CHINA

The construction crews arrive at dawn in Jian’ge County, Sichuan Province. Heavy machinery moves across the site where Sundaily, China’s second-largest egg producer, is building what will become the nation’s largest single-site cage-free egg farm. The facility will initially house 300,000 cage-free hens across a number of barns, with plans to scale to one million hens over the next three to five years. For an industry that measures change in decades, the speed of the country’s second-largest producer shifting from using only caged systems to making a large portion of its egg production cage-free is remarkable.

What’s happening at Huat Lai isn’t isolated. Across China, similar conversations have been happening in farm offices and conference rooms, with producers weighing the same data points that convinced Huat Lai and Sun Daily to act.

In Shanxi Province, egg producer Pianguan Yong Ao didn’t just convert existing caged facilities—it also launched an ambitious “One Million Cage-Free Hens” initiative in partnership with the local government. Traditional large-scale caged egg producers like Danxiansen and Tudama have also transitioned tens of thousands of birds out of caged production and into cage-free or free-range systems.

The momentum is visible at construction sites across the country. In Shandong, egg producer Fuziyuan built new cage-free facilities from the ground up. Donghua, one of China’s leading producers, decided that for the first time their next barn would be built entirely without cages. In Guangdong, construction has begun on a government-backed project in partnership with Tudama Agricultural Development Company that will ultimately see 500,000 hens moved into cage-free production systems.

CREATING RIPPLES ACROSS SOUTHEAST ASIA

The delegation steps out of the air-conditioned van into the humid air of a Malaysian morning. Executives from three different egg producers—competitors back home—walk side by side through Huat Lai’s transformed barns. They watch birds dust-bathing, perching, moving freely through multi-level systems. One executive pulls out his phone to record a video. Another asks detailed questions about feed conversion rates. By the end of the tour, the conversation has shifted from “whether” to “how soon.”

Each successful conversion makes the next conversation easier. Producers visit operating cage-free farms, see the economics working firsthand, talk to managers who’ve made the switch. The unknown becomes familiar. If Huat Lai can do this profitably, why can’t they? These questions and conversations—pushed forward day after day by Lever’s team— can reshape industries.

As commitments are locked in place, and old facilities torn down so better versions can take their place, the capital commitments needed to build new facilities strongly incentivize producers to push their healthier, less-cruel products through distribution channels.

This is how agriculture evolves: patient evidence accumulation, relationships built over years, proof that systems which benefit public health and animal welfare can also make for viable businesses. Mutzu, Vilosha and colleagues working with farmers and producers across China and East Asia on the topic aren’t just advocating change—they’re supporting it, one conversation and one farmer at a time.