Who is Laura Ingle Sharp?

Laura Ingle Sharp is an Ingles Markets board member, a position she’s held since 1997. Laura’s father is the eponymous founder of Ingles; the brand’s private label Laura Lynn is her namesake. Her influence on Ingles, then, is demonstrable.

In 2016, Ingles joined other retailers in publishing a cage-free egg policy; the company reaped positive PR and praise from customers, news outlets, and animal protection groups. Six years later, there is no public evidence of progress toward this policy—contrary to countless other retailers (Publix, Whole Foods, Walmart, BJ’s Wholesale, Sprouts, Kroger, Target, The Fresh Market, Amazon Fresh, etc.) reporting on their cage-free progress.

As a retailer in the Southeast, Ingles purchases countless eggs, thus has the power to alleviate the suffering of millions of caged hens. This failure to report is noticeable; recently, even Ingles’ own stockholders asked leadership to report progress, a request they dismissed while saying they were “passionate” about animal welfare. But why hide this passion behind closed doors—unless no progress has been made?

Chickens are social, intelligent animals who should not be crammed together into tiny, filthy cages. Unable to even spread their own wings, each hen has the space about the size of an iPad to live out their pained lives. They can’t dust-bathe or express most of their other natural behaviors. Often, they suffer from broken bones and mental anguish.

Will Laura choose to do the right thing and encourage her fellow board members to finally report progress on ending animal cruelty, or will she continue to ignore the public commitment Ingles made on his watch?

Click “Take Action” below to tell Laura that consumers demand more and animals deserve better; now is the time to demonstrate true leadership by showing the world that Ingles Markets is committed to ending animal abuse.