The Yolk of Oppression: Eggs Are Latest Front In Humane-Food Wars

Recently the Federal Trade Commission ruled that United Egg Producers must remove the misleading "Animal Care Certified" label from its egg cartons (see http://www.cok.net/feat/accwin.php ). Wholefoods and Wild Oats have pledged to sell only cage-free eggs.

Today, Tuesday, October 18, we see a Wall Street Journal story headed, "The Yolk of Oppression: Eggs Are Latest Front In Humane-Food Wars." (Pg D1.)

Wall Street Journal subscribers can access the whole article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB112959666209171428.html

It tells us:
"In a move that signals the increasing importance of animal-welfare issues to the food industry, a large food-service company is expected to announce today that it will buy eggs only from hens that have not been confined in cages. The action by Bon Appétit Management Co., which operates 200 cafeterias in colleges and corporate campuses, comes on the heels of similar bird-liberating pledges by retailers and colleges around the country."

Later we learn that Bon Appétit "buys about eight million shell eggs a year, as well as an unknown quantity of liquid eggs, which are not currently included in the cage-free pledge but may be in the future..."

The article notes large increases in sales in the cage-free egg market.

And we read about different types of eggs:
"There are three basic methods of raising laying hens: caged, cage-free and free-range. The vast majority world-wide -- about 98% -- are caged. Cage-free birds do not spend any time in cages; instead, they roam the floor of a hen house. Free-range birds are those that are allowed to spend at least some portion of their lives in the outdoors, though not necessarily on grass, while hens that are set out on grass are known as pastured....The only eggs with a nutritional difference are those that come from "pastured" hens, says Michael Hamm, a professor of sustainable agriculture at Michigan State University. Their unique diet yields eggs higher in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E. Only a tiny percentage of eggs come from birds raised this way, and are usually sold at farmer's markets."

Unfortunately the article quotes the dean of agriculture and natural resources at Michigan State University, who was asked by United Egg Producers, to oversee a panel of scientists and recommend new animal-welfare guidelines. He said "Cages are a humane way to raise hens, as long as some changes are made." A look at the website http://www.EggScam.com which shows the living conditions of animals whose eggs were labeled by United Egg Producers as "Animal Care Certified," makes one suspicious of claims coming from that industry about the comfort of caged hens.

And what the article fails to mention is that poultry is exempt from the Federal Humane Slaughter Act, and "spent hens" (egg-laying hens who are no longer profitable) are exempt from many state laws that offer even a little protection to other birds. Spent hens are killed by the cheapest means possible, which include being buried alive in mass graves, or even, at least once, being fed alive into a woodchipper (see http://www.DawnWatch.com/oped-december1-2003.htm). That means that with laws as they are, unfortunately even the consumption of cage-free eggs supports cruelty that most people would be unlikely to condone.

The Wall Street Journal article presents a great opportunity for letters in this influential paper regarding the treatment of animals used for food. The Journal takes letters at wsj.ltrs [at] wsj.com. Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.

You can read more about the on the Bon Appétit decision on the HSUS web site at http://tinyurl.com/c7h7m.


(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)