Surprising NYTimes Editorial about National Egg Production

Surprising to me at least. The editorial advocates a national standard that establishes humane standards in all parts of the country.

EU Bans Battery Cages

To offset yesterday's crappy news about California, here's good news from the EU!

Full article on Food Safety News....

As of Jan. 1, 2012, egg-laying hens across many European countries will live with fewer discomforts: The European Commission has officially implemented its ban on battery cages, the notoriously cramped cages used by many egg farmers and criticized by animal rights proponents and veterinarians who call them cruel and harmful to the birds' welfare.

The law, finalized in 1999, comes after a 12-year "phase-out" period meant to allow egg farmers time to implement the costly transition away from battery cages. According to the Scotsman newspaper, replacing battery cages with more-hospitable "enriched" cages has alone cost U.K. egg producers an estimated £400 million ($613 million).

Most farmers in participating countries have opted for the enriched cages, installing roomier enclosures that allow hens to stretch their wings, roost on an elevated platform and nest in a designated nesting area. Others have arranged for barns or other free-range systems, but the law now clearly reserves hens a seat at a nest.

That opportunity to properly nest will do the most to improve hen well-being, said Ian J.H. Duncan, Ph.D., Emeritus Chair in Animal Welfare at the University of Guelph in Ontario and the President of the Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada. Duncan has been studying the effects of battery cages on hens since the early 1970s, when he worked at the Poultry Research Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Hope for Hen Welfare

A press release I received from the Farm Sanctuary....


Animal Welfare Groups Win Industry Backing for First-Ever Federal Regulation of Hen Welfare

Groundswell of Public Support Results in Full Court Press for Nationwide Law Protecting Chickens to Replace State-by-State Initiatives

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – July 8, 2011 – In a groundbreaking move that should result in the greatest advancement for farmed animals in U.S. history, the United Egg Producers (UEP) has agreed to support national legislation that will, upon enactment, improve the welfare of all laying hens in the nation. Enactment of the bill will bring about the first federal law relating to the treatment of chickens used for food, the first federal law relating to the treatment of animals while on factory farms, and the first farmed animal protection legislation in more than 30 years.

Today’s deal is the apex of a 25 year-long struggle that Farm Sanctuary (www.farmsanctuary.org) and other animal protection organizations have had with the egg industry, in which Farm Sanctuary has investigated and produced undercover video of battery farms, produced and disseminated scientific reports on caged hen welfare, initiated statewide ballot initiatives, and constantly mobilized its hundreds of thousands of supporters to write letters, sign petitions, and work on behalf of hens in cages in myriad ways.

Because of the work of Farm Sanctuary supporters and other animal protection advocates across the nation, the UEP now understands the overwhelming opposition to battery cages, which were subject to a ballot initiative in California in 2008, in which California citizens voted overwhelmingly to ban the cages; the initiative received more “yes” votes than any other ballot measure in California history. Similar legislation, on hold as a result of today’s agreement, was planned in Washington State and Oregon. Specifically, if it becomes law the legislation will:

• require the nationwide elimination of battery cages—tiny cages that nearly immobilize hundreds of millions of laying hens today;

• require environmental enrichments so that birds can engage in important natural behaviors currently denied to them in barren cages, such as perches, nesting boxes, and scratching areas;

• mandate labeling on all egg cartons nationwide to inform consumers of the method used to produce the eggs, such as “eggs from caged hens” or “eggs from cage-free hens;”

• prohibit forced molting through starvation—an inhumane practice which is inflicted on tens of millions of hens each year and which involves withholding all food from birds for up to two weeks in order to shock their bodies into another laying cycle;

• prohibit excessive ammonia levels in henhouses—a common problem in the industry that is harmful to both hens and egg industry workers;

• require standards for euthanasia practices; and

• prohibit the sale of all eggs and egg products nationwide that don’t meet these requirements.

Some of the provisions will be implemented almost immediately after enactment, such as those relating to starvation, ammonia levels, and euthanasia, and others after just a few years, including labeling and the requirement that all birds will have to have at least 67 square inches of space per bird. Currently, approximately 50 million laying hens are confined at only 48 square inches per bird. Further improvements in mandated minimum space for hens occur later in the agreement.

“This deal represents a major victory for farmed animals,” explains Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary. “For too long, animals on factory farms have had no federal protection from even the most heinous abuse. We are proud of our significant part in making this legislation a reality, and we salute the hard work of animal protection advocates nationwide who worked so hard on behalf of our nation’s hens.”

About Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary, the nation's leading farm animal protection organization, promotes legislative, policy, and individual lifestyle changes to help farm animals. Farm Sanctuary’s shelters in New York and California provide lifelong care for rescued farm animals.

Royal Decree Issued in Spain Over Animal Welfare

Interesting! Effective? Who knows?

Here's an excerpt from Farmers Weekly Interactive....

The Spanish government has taken the unusual step of issuing a royal decree to compel farmers to report on what action they are taking to comply with the 2012 conventional cage-ban and if they require any government assistance.

In the decree the Spanish Government outlines a training and publicity initiatives to promote new methods of production to farmers and the public as well as a timeline to receive and investigate plans for conversion as well as committing €300m in loans for farmers to convert to enriched facilities.

But some industry experts doubt Spain, a nation which has an unemployment rate above 20% and a stagnant economy, can afford to pay out €300m to farmers. Others have suggested that the amount of money allocated would only be enough to assist half the Spanish egg industry to convert.

Clemson Researcher Investigates Impacts of Cages on Laying Hens

It's a study funded by the US Department of Agriculture.

One would think it would be elementary. Crowded and filthy conditions mean suffering for hens. But it's not just about the hens....it's about the money. How much suffering can and should they endure without significantly affecting the human pocketbook. Or corporate net income.

From the Clemson press release....

More is at stake than just the comfort of chickens, though the well-being of 284 million U.S. laying hens is no small matter. Nearly 95 percent of the 90 billion table eggs produced in the United States come from high-density cage systems. The value of all egg production in 2007 was $6.68 billion. In South Carolina egg sales tally about $90 million annually. Changing production conditions are bound to affect the bottom the line.

BOCA to Stop Using Eggs by End of 2009

Totally missed this story from about a month ago.

On March 19, 2009 a company representative emailed Compassion Over Killing:

"…I am pleased to let you know the BOCA brand will be eliminating eggs in all of its products by the end of this year. We anticipate all BOCA products will be egg free in 2010."

By removing eggs from their ingredient list, BOCA is withdrawing financial support for factory farms that use battery-cages. They are striking a blow against the cruel egg industry. Whether or not you choose to eat eggs, this is a major victory for animals. This brings us one step closer to ending intense confinement of hens in factory farms.

Radlo Foods Pledging Conversion to Cage-Free Eggs

Good news following an investigation of farm animal abuses by Mercy for Animals.

Sometime soon, David Radlo of Radlo Foods says his sign in front of the former DeCoster Egg Farm will be coming down and all his business at the massive egg operation in Turner will come to an end. Radlo says he will no longer rely on hens or eggs that come from Maine Contract Farming, the company owned by egg farm magnate Jack DeCoster, one of the nation's biggest producers of brown eggs.

Says Radlo, "We've given up that facility and we're moving on down the road and we're sourcing from other states right now but there's an important thing that people need to know: we hear you loud and clear."

Radlo's announcement follows word from Pennsylvania-based egg supplier Eggland's Best that it would drop Radlo Foods as one of its franchisees. In a written statement the company said it was making the move after an investigation revealed that Radlo Foods violated the terms of an agreement by working with a farm that is not in compliance with its strict animal welfare standards. Instead, Eggland's Best says it will get classic brown eggs from other locations. Its white eggs, cage-free and organic eggs are not involved.

Nathan Runkle, executive director of Mercy for Animals, an Ohio-based animal rights organization, commends Eggland's Best "for finally stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility for their involvement in this abusive facility."

Mercy for Animals sent an undercover investigator to work at the former DeCoster Egg Farm in Turner where he secretly videotaped hens being spun by the neck and kicked into manure pits or thrown into garbage cans and left to die for several days. The group's findings have now triggered an investigation by the state's Animal Welfare Program. The Hannaford Brothers supermarket chain has also announced that it will begin vigorously enforcing an agreement it has with egg suppliers not to do business with the farm.

Here's a link to the investigative video. Be warned, it's hard to watch.