- Chickens in battery cages; PHOTO: Farm Sanctuary
By MAYA DAVIS
A compromise between the Humane Society of the United States and Ohio egg farmers has led to a ban that prohibits the building of new factory farms that keep hens in cages. Instead, new farms will need to house chickens in buildings without cages. These facilities usually have two to three times more room per bird than cages, which hold eight to ten chickens in a space the size of a filing cabinet drawer. Factory egg farms produce millions of eggs a day.
Ohio is not alone in recognizing the need for better living conditions for chickens. According to The New York Times, by 2015, caging hens will be illegal in California. Later this year, California will also prohibit the sale of eggs that come from farms that use caging methods. The Humane Society reports that 95 percent of egg-producing chickens are now crammed into small cages.
The United Egg Producers report that if all eggs came from un-caged hens, the price of eggs would go up 25 percent. Animal supporters argue that the issue should not be a matter of price but of the animals’ overall well-being. President of the Vegetarian Society of Georgia, Jill Howard-Church, points out that “if reforming farming practices gets U.S. hens out of cages […] the sky will not fall, American families won’t go bankrupt, and billions of birds will have at least some relief.”
Similar laws are being considered in other states and for other farm animals such as cows raised for veal and female pigs.
Maya Davis, age 13, is a student in Queens, New York.
- Photo: איתמר ק., ITamar K.
See also: “Bad eggs”
The United Egg Producers has a sordid record of animal cruelty and consumer deception. More at http://www.humanesociety.org/uep
Maya, I am using your interesting report in my Sunday sermon. We are celebrating Harvest Home and it will give people something to think about. Thank you.
dear dudes
i better not see chickens mistreted aight unless u want me boyycotting on dat an that wont be good i have my ppls to help me aight ohhh and also add some awsomeness to this shiz i get bored just looking at it so yeah peace stay awesome i noe were u stay at i aint gonna beat u up or any of dat shiz im just protesting treat does chicks well plzz=]
sinceraly:Dude
The United Egg Producers is a discredited trade organization with a sordid history of consumer fraud and animal cruelty. The “UEP Certified” program allows hens to be confined in cages that provide each animal less space than a sheet of paper to spend her life. More at http://www.humanesociety.org/uep
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