Cage Free Eggs…does it really make a difference?
August 13, 2007 by lavendercreek
I saw this article today in the New York Times and I have mixed feelings about it. I personally don’t see a whole lot of improvement in this method, the chickens are still packed in like sardines and I am sure that living conditions are still just as appalling when you get right down to it. I wouldn’t want to buy eggs produced from these chickens any more than I would those from battery chickens but I am happy to see that people with a bit more influence than your average Joe are taking notice and demanding change. It may not be the change many of us would like to see but at least it is a step in the right direction. I just hope they don’t stop here. I’m sure the industry will do only what it feels will appease these squeaky wheels in the hopes that they will eventually lose interest and turn their sites on the next fashionable latest outrage… then it will be business as usual in the chicken factories. I hope I am wrong…
Anyway, I’m probably just a dreamer but this is more my idea of “cage free”
Thank you for highlighting this article. I read it with interest and like you feel that the birds may not be much better off and as the article says these conditions may lead to hunger, disease and cannibalism. I have seen my guinea fowl feather picking when kept in the hut and they certainly have more space than those in the picture.
Sara from farmingfriends
Great Link. You’re right, it is a small step in the right direction. I hope people continue to show interest in what’s going on at factory farms, that’s the only way there will be change. The profiteers certainly aren’t going to change willingly! My hens are getting old, and I’ve had to buy a few times recently. I’m lucky enough to be able to pick up eggs from small scale local farms at my dairy.
Thanks for the comments! Farm mom, yes you’re lucky to have access to local farm eggs. That’s what I’m trying to find for us right now. Many people have their own chickens in our village but they don’t sell their eggs. Next year we will have our own chickens but I refuse to wait that long before switching over to small farm eggs and meat. The quality of the eggs in our grocery stores is really pathetic. The shells are paper thin, the yolks are very pale… that doesn’t speak well for how the chickens are cared for. The chicken meat itself is no better, sometimes with massive bruising and broken bones, and sometimes visible scald marks from urine, etc.
I’ve got a few leads which I’ll be checking out this week, for eggs as well as meat.
I just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver’s latest book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” & there’s actual data that shows grain fed hens that are free range lay eggs that have less cholesterol. So it’s not only healthier for the chickens, it’s also healthier for those that consume the products!