Editor,
Re: Egg Farmers of Canada announces move to alternative hen housing
The good news for laying hens is the recent commitment by Egg Farmers of Canada (EFC) to end battery cages for laying hens. The bad news is it will take up to 20 years, even though the public is calling for change now.
The February 5th announcement from egg farmers is focused on enriched cages for hens, not cage-free systems, as consumers are requesting. Eggs produced in enriched cages won't satisfy retailer requirements for cage-free eggs.
Tim Hortons, Burger King, McDonald's, Starbucks, Taco Bell, General Mills, Nestle and others have responded to public pressure and are calling for cage-free eggs. It is regrettable egg farmers still promote cages for laying hens. Whatever the alternative caging is called — "furnished," "enriched" or "colony" — it remains an unacceptable confinement system.
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About 95 per cent of laying hens in Canada are now confined to battery cages with each hen having less space than a standard sheet of paper. Even with growing public pressure against battery cages, the EFC wants until 2036 to change from small battery cages to larger confinement operations.
Twenty years is too long for the Canadian egg industry to move hens out of battery cages. The European Union made its change in 12 years.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Brown, Director, Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals
Liz White, Director, Director, Animal Alliance of Canada
Comments
The above institutions only ask for cage free eggs or stall free pork,grasss fed beef,ect. as they use it for a marketing niche as it has nothing to do with animal welfare or food safety . Its time our marketing boards step up and get the real facts out of why these systems are used and the benefits that they provide to everyone. The true agenda of many of these organizations are too eliminate animal agriculture and turn the world into vegans. The ones responsible for releasing the mink stated if they did enough financial harm too producers they will either quit or be forced out.
A very concerned pork producer.
Please do not publish my name as we do fear repercussions from these organizations
I would say that asking for an end to caged animals has everything to do with animal welfare, and that it would be difficult for marketing boards to show benefits of cage systems to the animals involved. Consumers are starting to want a better life for the animals they eat, and look to animal welfare organizations to speak to producers on their behalf.
It makes some sort of convoluted sense for the Egg Farmers of Ontario (EFO) to defend keeping hens in cages, because after all, we, in Canada, put consumers in cages and call it supply management.
Or, in other words, what's supposedly good for consumers under the yoke of supply management should also be good for the hens.
If only EFO cared as much about consumers as they claim to care about hens!
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
The fastest way to move to cage free eggs in Canada would be by allowing anyone to enter the market.
In addition, cage free eggs could be produced for far-less money than caged and quota produced eggs.
It's all about respect.
Raube Beuerman
Super easy solution . Call it a new class not under SM and do not allow current SM producers to fill the market . Or bring them in from south of the border .
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