Who is Putnam Shin?

Putnam K. Shin is the Chief Growth and Innovation Officer of BJ’s Restaurants & Brewhouse. A graduate of Harvard Business School and Pomona College, Putnam held leadership positions at Merlin Entertainments, L.E.K. Consulting, and The Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Company reported that it is 100% cage-free; meanwhile, BJ’s has not reported any cage-free progress on its website. Will Putnam follow the lead of his past employer and show evidence that BJ’s is honoring its commitment?

In 2016, BJ’s pledged to go 100% cage-free by 2025, with the majority of its egg supply transitioned by 2020. This commitment was similar to those made by other companies over the years—now 400+ companies in the US have commitments to transition to the use of solely cage-free eggs.

BJ’s publicly failed to meet its 2020 milestone. Today, BJ’s has no public evidence of any cage-free progress on its website, though many of its menu items list eggs as ingredients. Meanwhile, major competitors like Applebee’s, TGI Fridays, Yardhouse, Red Robin, and many more are reporting progress or fulfillment on their 100% cage-free egg policies.

The BJ’s website states that “the quality on your plate starts with the quality of care given to all creatures in our supply chain.” If this is true, the quality of a BJ’s plate is questionable, as the quality of care for caged egg-laying hens involves filthy, cruel conditions.

Caged egg-laying hens spend their lives crammed together in barren wire cages. They cannot dust-bathe or express most of their other natural behaviors. Often, they suffer from broken bones and mental anguish. Each hen is unable to even spread her own wings, and has only as much space as the size of a sheet of paper within which to live her entire, miserable life.

Chickens are social, intelligent animals who should not be forced to live in conditions so inhospitable that many countries and states have made them illegal—including California, where BJ’s is headquartered. Companies like BJ’s should not go back on their commitments, especially when they affect the lives of so many animals.

Will Putnam Shin choose to do the right thing and encourage his fellow leadership members to commit to end animal cruelty, or will he continue to ignore the public promise BJ’s made?

Click “Take Action” below to tell Putnam Shin that consumers demand more and animals deserve better; now is the time to demonstrate true leadership by showing the world that BJ’s sticks to its word.