Which Comes First – the Chicken or the Egg? Animal Rights Groups Pushing to Ban Caged Chickens

October 7th, 2009 • Related • Filed Under • by Debbie Dragon

If pressure being applied by animal rights groups to improve the living conditions of egg producing chickens is successful, egg prices in the US are expected to increase by as much as 25%. This begs the question – which do we value most, the chicken or the availability of $1 a dozen eggs?

California has already introduced bans on cage living systems for chickens, to be enforced over the next 5 years. The bans were introduced as a direct result of pressure applied by animal rights groups.

What are the implications if similar bans are introduced nationwide?

Fact or Fiction?

Egg producers claim there are many myths in circulation regarding the treatment of cage-housed chickens, with this misinformation stirring up unwarranted public concerns. United Egg Producers is a cooperative of US egg farmers that sets minimum standards for chicken welfare and publishes information designed to debunk the popular misconceptions regarding chicken farming, but sometimes facts are less appealing than fiction. It can be hard to change public perception once seeds of doubt have been sown.

Making it Someone Else’s Problem

There are concerns amongst egg producers that changes in legislation restricting the availability of eggs to those produced by cage-free hens, would encourage cheaper imports from other countries. These countries could have even lower standards for the welfare of chickens which simply shifts the problem away from the US consumer’s view. There is also the ever present fear, supported by past experiences, of the possibility of contaminated food being introduced into the US market place.

Another objection to the import of eggs is the environmental impact of transporting a low cost commodity around the world in a time when Governments are looking at ways to reduce their carbon footprints – not increase them.

The restriction of supply to just non-cage eggs would not only increase costs to individual consumers but also to national food assistance programs, which have already seen an increase in demand for help in the last year.

To date, approximately 95% of eggs sold in the US come from cage-living sources. It appears that the consumer makes her buying decision based on something other than the welfare of the chicken. Removing this supply of eggs is going to impact the budgets of 95% of egg buying consumers – consumers who are possibly not overly concerned with animal welfare issues when compared with their need to get value for money. Eggs have always been a popular food with low income families so it is to be expected that any price hike will have a profound impact on those least able to afford it.

With family budgets already stretched, a 25% increase in the cost of a staple food commodity is going to be difficult to meet and unpopular.