The Search for Cage-Free Eggs Gets Competitive |
Free Range Chickens at Feeding Time (photo by Digiology, courtesy of morguefile.com)
In another sign that campaigns for the humane treatment of animals are having a real impact, it seems there’s a nationwide hunt on for eggs from cage-free chickens.
The Humane Society of the United States began a campaign against battery cages in 2005, putting pressure on egg producers to cease raising chickens in stacks of small wire cages. Now there are universities, hotel chains, and some corporate cafeterias that have decided they must serve cage–free eggs.
World famous chef Wolfgang Puck has announced that he will only use food products from animals raised under strict humane standards. The Whole Foods supermarket chain only sells cage-free eggs. It’s no surprise that Vermont ice cream maker Ben and Jerry’s with its reputation for being socially conscious wants its eggs from chickens treated humanely, but even Burger King wants cage-free eggs after getting pressure from activists. The surge in demand has the big buyers worried that there may now be enough to go around, even though they’re willing to pay significantly more than for conventional eggs.
Sounds to us like its time for more egg producers to go the route of raising and keeping chickens humanely!
To read an article in the New York Times on the trend cited above go to: Suddenly, the Hunt Is On for Cage-Free Eggs
To learn more about efforts to improve the treatment of animals in the U.S. go to: Humane Society of the United States
To view previous posts on the topic go to:
