You have probably seen cartons of eggs in the store from "free range" or "cage free" hens, but what about all those other eggs on the shelves? At stores like Wild Oats and Whole Foods, only cage-less eggs are sold, but by some estimates, the eggs from caged hens in an ordinary grocery store could be more than 80% of those on the shelves. Eggs from caged hens are not labeled in any particular way, leaving consumers with the impression that the eggs have a blank slate. In other words, if it doesn't clearly state the eggs' origin, consumers aren't going to spend too much time thinking about it even if they don't support caging chickens.
At least, this is the theory put forward by Washington DC council member Jim Graham, who is proposing a law that would require supermarkets to display signs stating that "Eggs may be from caged hens" on displays of eggs not labeled otherwise. He says that this would increase consumer awareness for the issue, which is receiving more and more attention from animal rights groups, as well as individuals who are "interested in protecting animals"
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-30-2006 @ 10:52AM
SCSthrnBell said...
I think most people already know that the majority of our eggs that we buy from the grocery store come from chicken houses just like the turkeys that we buy come from the turkey houses. We have several families in my community that have the turkey houses on their farms, so I don't feel like it's a big issue. If we buy the chickens that are injected and grown within 45 days, what's the big deal about the eggs? As long as I don't have to remove the egg from up under the chicken, I really don't care. Most people that have had the experience of gathering eggs and getting a hold on that one ROTTEN egg,don't care too much either. Chicken houses, cages, whatever, I don't care.
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9-30-2006 @ 12:03PM
MJ said...
lord.........can I crack may egg without worrying about eating the yolk and the whites! Now you want me to worry about if the chicken is in a house or not? LOL..... Lets worry about people more.And fry up that chicken. I worry more about my eggs being fresh! Hard to find!!
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9-30-2006 @ 1:35PM
Curtis Bostic said...
with our governments help we can change these cruel methods of punishment, living environment and hormone injections that inevitably are going to affect our own health,bottom line is making money more quickly.
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9-30-2006 @ 8:45PM
regan wright said...
this issue, i think, is much ado about nothing.
i am by no means saying that all producers are filthy, quite the opposite. caged birds and the production of eggs are probably the cleanest production of any eggs. after speaking with the american egg board and seeing photos and documentation, i feel safer eating caged bird egg than anything else.
the idea of a free-range bird being cleaner is stupid to me. chickens are not independent animals and won't leave the house. as there's no cages, the chickens have a lot more contact with each other and their environment is considerably less clean than a caged bird has.
while it's possible that smaller, more independent producers (which there are few) could do a wonderful job, we've just got to realize that chickens are disgustingly dirty animals. the technical advancements of caging the birds with all the sanitation involved just seems the better option to me.
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10-01-2006 @ 5:05PM
REP said...
We need more detailed food product labeling so we know what we are actually ingesting. Most chickens are not even fed a natural vegetarian diet! Some are eating diseased chickens. When did chickens become cannibals? Current guidelines allow the hens to live in "battery cages" with as many as eight hens in a cage. There is not even room for the birds even to flap their wings.
The UEP guidelines also allow the practice of trimming chicken's beaks to prevent excessive pecking, as well as "force molting," which involves underfeeding hens to extend their capacity to lay eggs."Free range" means the chickens were allowed to roam outdoors. But "cage free" doesn't necessarily mean much in terms of quality of life for hens. Eggs labeled "cage free" often come from hens packed side by side in massive sheds. Then you can talk about how they slaughtered. Shackled by their feet, the chickens receive a painful electric shock that is supposed to make them unconscious and then there throats are cut. All at the average age of 7 weeks old! In Europe they gas them. Why can't we at least do that here in the US? Chickens are probably the most abused farm animals there are. We are all guilty of being "ostriches" with our heads in the sand...saying don't tell us, because we do not want to know. But the truth is we should know. Now if you really want to get a stomachache, write an article of how dog food is made and what the exact contents of dog food is. The label has been designed to hide the rancid facts. REP, Santa Monica, CA
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