Historic Agreement Reached Between Egg Industry and Humane Organizations

by Jennifer Mishler July 7, 2011
Categories: Animals, Causes
Tags: bruce friedrich.
Photo: Flickr/Creative Commons

Animal lovers, rejoice! An agreement has been made between United Egg Producers (UEP) and several organizations to improve the treatment of egg-laying hens in the factory farming industry. UEP, which represents nearly all of the United States’ egg farms, has agreed to support federal legislation that, if enacted, will be a milestone in the movement for change in big agriculture’s treatment of animals.

Organizations including Farm Sanctuary and the Humane Society of the United States and their supporters have been hard at work to reach this agreement and are pushing for legislation to be passed. According to Bruce Friedrich, Senior Director of Initiatives at Farm Sanctuary, on the Huffington Post today: “This bill, if enacted, will be the first federal law relating to the treatment of chickens used for food, the first federal law relating to the treatment of animals while on farms, and the first federal law improving the treatment of farmed animals in more than thirty years.”

All egg farms would be required to end the use of battery cages (tiny cages in which chickens are kept without room to move or even stretch), provide the birds with enrichment and ability to engage in natural behaviors, label egg cartons with information regarding the raising of the chickens used, and stop the process of forced molting by starving the birds. The farms would also be prohibited from excessive use of ammonia in their hen facilities and be required to utilize humane euthanasia practices. The selling of any eggs or products made from those eggs not meeting these requirements would be prohibited.

The millions of animals in the egg industry often live in horrific conditions and are severely abused and neglected. This is a powerful step toward change!

About Jennifer Mishler

Jennifer is an animal advocate and activist. She is a volunteer coordinator with The Girls Gone Green, a nonprofit organization advocating for animals rights, veganism, and environmentalism. She is also an Onshore Volunteer with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and a volunteer with CJ Acres Animal Rescue Farm, a nonprofit that rescues and rehabilitates farm animals. Along with writing for Ecorazzi, she writes about veganism and animal rights on her blog, A Dog's Eye View. She lives in Jacksonville, FL with her husband and their three animal friends. Follow Jennifer on Twitter: @jennygonevegan

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Chris

The best way to treat hens is by being vegan, and not eating eggs, thus boycotting the nazi-like, inhumane egg industry. Eggs, with regards, to your health are full of cholesterol, so by giving up eggs, you are actually improving your health. Also, asides from what I said, what was mentioned in the article is merely rhetoric. The hens will continue to live in cages, against their will, serving the horrors of the human race, and will be mistreated by uneducated, unintelligent humans who work in those facilities.
http://www.herwinsvegancafe.com herwin

Farm Sanctuary, my heroes…Great Job. The chickens will live less cruel and hopefully it will become less cheap to produce eggs. More expensive eggs = less people buying eggs !
Terry

Wayne Pacelle has been losing credibility in the legitimate animal welfare community for years, thanks to fundraising scams (Vick dogs, Katrina, “Faye/Fay” and more)that could easily result in criminal charges for HSUS if U.S charities were regulated. He lost big with Missouri’s Prop B and has little support for the cage-free initiatives in Oregon and Washington. His “monumental” 2008 victory in California is under legal assault. True humane movement leaders like the brilliant Nathan Winograd have exposed him as a hypocrite, liar and greedy con artist. The more moderate views of the Temple Grandin-backed American Humane Association have been gaining traction with legislators from coast to coast.

As he has done throughout his entire career, the morally bankrupt Pacelle coopts the work of others, pretending to support enriched cages, while negotiating a political deal in secret like the cheap politician he is. Self-aggrandizing press releases appear, with HSUS depicted as the savior of countless millions of hens. Another fundraising bonanza for the dude who told the Atlanta Constitution that his buddy Michael Vick would make a good pet owner.