A Search for the Ethical Egg
By Pat Racimora on December 21, 2009 at 11:45 AM in Current Affairs
At least once a week I like a real breakfast—you know, toast with a chunky berry jam, orange juice, hash browns, coffee, and a couple of eggs, sunny-side-up.
But when I became aware of how laying hens were kept, those eggs didn’t look quite the same. Now they were staring straight up at me, and not in a nice way.
So, I set out on a search for the “Ethical Egg.”
Turns out it would be rare to find eggs laid by hens in the “Old McDonald’s Farm” venue—you know, out in the spacious barnyard meandering about with a cow, a goat, a pig, and a pony, scratching around and free to go wherever they please. Nowadays eggs are corporate products, and the bottom line is production and profit. Needless to say the quality of life for the hens is not at the top of the list.
But surely there was something better than hens being crammed into cages so small that they could not flap their wings, kept in dark warehouses 24/7, fed pesticide/antibiotic-soaked corn, and then starved to induce molting for second cycle egg production.
Phone calls to the American Egg Board and the United Egg Producers offered some helpful information. Groups for the humane treatment of animals supplied the rest.
Let’s start out with what the United Egg Producers logo means. Eighty percent of egg producers voluntarily claim to follow rules set by the UEP:
Increased cage space per hen, which is being phased in to avoid market disruptions.
Standards for non-feed withdrawal molting procedures based on the most current, verified scientific studies.
Standards for trimming of chicks’ beaks, when necessary, to avoid pecking and cannibalism.
Maintaining constant supply of fresh feed, water and air ventilation throughout the chicken house and monitoring for ammonia.
Standards for daily inspection of each bird as well proper handling and transportation.
Availability of a new training video to instruct producer staffs on the proper handling of chickens to avoid injury to the animals.
This is all well and good, but may sound far better than it is. The Unitarian Universalist Association’s Ethical Eating Project has this to say about the United Egg Producers Certification:
The overwhelming majority of the U.S. egg industry complies with this voluntary program, which permits routine cruel and inhumane factory farm practices. By 2008, hens laying these eggs will be afforded 67 square inches of cage space per bird, less area than a sheet of paper. The hens are confined in restrictive, barren cages and cannot perform many of their natural behaviors, including perching, nesting, foraging or even spreading their wings…
Nevertheless, I would not buy an egg without the UEP logo, simply because I wouldn’t want to even think about what those “uncertified” hens’ lives are like.
There are luckier hens, although you will have to pay a little more and some of the labels promote more feel-good sales gimmicks than fully disclosing the whole truth. Here’s a look at the meaning of those labels supplied by the Humane Society. Watch for the information you won’t see on the carton.
Certified Organic: The animals must be allowed outdoor access, with ruminants—cows, sheep and goats—given access to pasture, but the amount, duration and quality of outdoor access is undefined. Animals must be provided with bedding materials. Though the use of hormones and antibiotics is prohibited, surgical mutilations without any pain relief are permitted. These are requirements under the National Organic Program regulations, and compliance is verified through third-party auditing.
Free-Range Chickens and Turkeys: The birds should have outdoor access. However, no information on stocking density, the frequency or duration of how much outdoor access must be provided, nor the quality of the land accessible to the animals is defined. Surgical mutilations without any pain relief are permitted. Producers must submit affidavits to the U.S. Department of Agriculture that support their animal production claims in order to receive approval for this label.
Animal Welfare Approved: The animals have access to the outdoors and are able to engage in natural behavior. No cages or crates may be used to confine the animals, and growth hormones and subtherapeutic antibiotics are disallowed. Some surgical mutilations, such as beak-mutilation of egg-laying hens, are prohibited, while others, such as castration without painkiller, are permitted. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing. Animal Welfare Approved is a program of the Animal Welfare Institute.
Certified Humane: The animals must be kept in conditions that allow for exercise and freedom of movement. As such, crates, cages and tethers are prohibited. Outdoor access is not required. Stocking densities are specified to prevent the overcrowding of animals. All animals must be provided with bedding materials. Hormone and non-therapeutic antibiotic use is prohibited, while surgical mutilations without any pain relief are permitted. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing. Certified Humane is a program of Humane Farm Animal Care
Cage-Free: Unlike birds raised for eggs, those raised for meat are rarely caged prior to transport. As such, this label on poultry products has virtually no relevance to animal welfare. However, the label is helpful when found on egg cartons, as most egg-laying hens are kept in severely restrictive cages prohibiting most natural behavior, including spreading their wings.
Vegetarian-Fed: These animals may be given a more natural feed than that received by most factory-farmed animals, but this claim does not have significant relevance to the animals’ living conditions.
Natural and Naturally Raised: These claims have no relevance to animal welfare.
In my area I found “certified organic” O Eggs. They are what we buy, and the satisfaciton is well worth the extra dollar. The inside carton lid states:
Why choose O Organic Eggs? The hens that lay O Organics eggs are free roaming with access to the outdoors, shade, fresh air, and direct sunlight. They receive fresh water, lots of exercise and wholesome organic food that’s grown without the use of pesticides or herbicides.
Any better ideas (besides giving up my eggs)?
by Ronald Scott
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