Fresh Eggs, From a Cage Near You

 Photo by CA4A.org from TEACHKIND.org

     Last night, at an ISE egg farm not five miles away from my home, an estimated 300,000 chickens were killed as the result of an accidental fire that burned for over 3 hours. Ten fire companies responded to a blaze exacerbated by 20 mph winds with gusts up to 45 mph. Residents 10 or 15 miles north of the fire reported smelling the odor. Several years ago, there was a a fire at a nearby horse barn and seven horses were killed. It was a tragic loss, devastating to the owner and heart-wrenching to imagine how the animals suffered. Initial reports about last night's fire did not include the number of chickens housed at the facility. Perhaps that information was not yet released by ISE, perhaps it was not considered an important detail.
    Several people on Facebook and in the Delaware NewsJournal joked about the death of the chickens, making comments about barbecue sauce and fried chicken. You get the idea. There are idiots everywhere, I know. I wasn't surprised. I did shake my head, however, at what appeared to be a sincere comment: "I hope they got all the chickens out safely." Clearly, this reader is totally disconnected with the way in which poultry and eggs are raised today.
    You all know where I'm going with this, so I will preface this by being the first to admit that I am not a vegetarian or vegan, not all of my food is certified organic/humane/cruelty free/etc., and I personally don't have THE solution on how to feed the world using only humane, sustainable methods. My chickens are not pets and I have no desire to carry them around and stroke them like a puppy. When they get old and stop laying, I may not keep them around. Just last week, I wondered if I was going to have to "cull" (kill) one of my hens because she was sick, rather than contaminate the entire henhouse or use antibiotics to treat her. I believe, at least until I get better information, that sometimes it is necessary to kill a bird rather than compromise the whole flock. Someday soon, I will share my story of treating a hen for bumblefoot last summer. She survived, but I can understand why farmers are not always able to treat individual hens.
     My criticism is with the processes involved in factory farming, techniques that are both horrifying and arguably counterproductive, compromising the health of the hens and the eggs.  In 2001, the Washington Post conducted an investigation into the ISE facility here in Cecil County and found thousands of chickens crowded into cages, missing feathers, caught in the cage wire unable to access food. Hens in battery cages suffer severe stress and often must be debeaked to prevent them from pecking each other. Disease thrives in crowded conditions, so the birds must be administered antibiotics and are exposed to pesticides. While the industry "recommends" each hen be allowed about 8x9 inches of space, some groups allege that hens are given as little as 6x6 inches of space. Twenty-five percent of the hens die during their 18-month lifespan, and there are no regulations about how the survivors are killed at the end of this time. Studies have shown that raising chickens in battery cages increases the risk of Salmonella infection in the hens and  their eggs.

Photo by CA4A.org from TEACHKIND.org

        At the time of the Post investigation, a company representative said, "We use normal industry practices." Undoubtedly, this is true. While animal cruelty is against the law, exemption is made for “customary and normal … agricultural husbandry practices." Standards we might consider cruel are rarely prosecuted. The egg industry argues that battery cages are healthier for chickens and eggs, because the birds are protected from germs and from eating their own droppings. If the chickens were not healthy, they argue, they would not be productive. Techniques for maintaining productivity include providing artificial light and forced molting, not to mention more than a century of breeding. What are the reasonable limits when it comes to enhancing productivity? The answer likely is different for each food consumer.
    There is no substitute for raising an animal--or growing a crop for that matter--to help you understand the challenges of farming. I try to follow the standards for Organic Poultry Production outlined by the National Sustainable Agriculture Information service. I've had to make a few compromises. Organic chicken feed is not readily available, so I use a vegetarian feed with no antibiotics or other chemicals added. Many organic farmers aim for 1.5 square feet of space per bird, not including outdoor "free range" access. Simple observation has taught me, and poultry experts agree, that when chickens are crowded they will lay fewer eggs--and extreme cases experience much higher mortality. Confined to their small yard during bad weather or when we are away, there is a noticeable drop off in the number of eggs. The coop smells worse, the buildup of droppings is harder to maintain and the chickens basically look miserable. I can't imagine them spending their whole lives that way.
   Years ago, I toured some broiler industry facilities from hatchery to processing plant. That is definitely a story for another blog, but I can tell you that I was impressed as well as concerned. I am not here to tell anyone what to do or what kind of eggs to buy, but the general public's growing disconnect with how our food is grown and processed is disturbing to me. When I talk about slaughtering a few of my chickens or how my local beef is processed, some people stop me by saying, "I don't want to know, I just want to eat it." Until we all demand to know just what goes into our food, and how the animals we eat are raised, industrial, "factory" farms will go on doing whatever they are allowed to do to boost productivity. As consumers, we are partly to blame. We choose to support these practices with our money.
    Switzerland has banned battery cages since 1992. The European Union has outlawed the use of battery cages after 2012. In the United States, California was the first state to outlaw battery cages; the law will not take effect until 2015. Several food chains have pledged to use "cage free" eggs. There are no other laws in the works. Is this good enough for you?