Organic and free range eggs vs industrial supermarket eggs:

more than just an animal welfare issue

Prof Christine Parker (Law School, Monash University)

Outline

• Caged hens: animal welfare issues• Beyond animal welfare: other impacts of

industrial supermarket egg production• Health value of organic and free range eggs• Misleading labelling : Is it possible to buy

healthy organic or free range eggs?

CAGED HENS: ANIMAL WELFARE ISSUES

BEYOND ANIMAL WELFARE: OTHER IMPACTS OF INDUSTRIAL EGG PRODUCTION

Negative Health Consequences of Industrial Egg Farming

• Public health impact:

manure dust and cesspools; infectious disease outbreaks; antibiotic resistance and growth of superbugs broader system impacts – pesticides and fertilisers (for grain feed), carbon and refirgerants (transport & store eggs)

• Individual health impact:salmonella; anitbiotic resistance passes on from consuming eggs; less fresh = more risk

Negative Health Consequences of Industrial Egg Farming

• Public health impact:

manure dust and cesspools; infectious disease outbreaks; antibiotic resistance and growth of superbugs broader system impacts – pesticides and fertilisers (for grain feed), carbon and refirgerants (transport & store eggs)

• Individual health impact:salmonella; antibiotic resistance passes on from consuming eggs; less fresh = more risk

HEALTH VALUE OF ORGANIC AND FREE RANGE EGGS

IS IT POSSIBLE TO BUY HEALTHY ORGANIC/FREE RANGE EGGS?

20, 000 hens/ha

29% of free range egg production in Australia stock at densities higher than 2 hens per square metre on the range area. … The egg industry wishes to … draw a ‘line in the sand’ at a responsible and transparent maximum outdoor range density [of 20, 000/ha].

Competing standards

Choice

The most important thing is for consumers to have confidence they are getting what they pay for, and increasing numbers of Australians are paying a premium for eggs labelled free range.

Price of a dozen free range eggs in Melbourne:

Coles & Woolworths $4.00 - $6.99 (Family Homestead $8.89)

Farmers’ Markets $5.95 - $9.50Organic stores $6.50 - $10.99

Summary: Supermarket Eggs• Big issue is industrial production method

regardless of whether labelled cage, free range or organic

• Certified organic (ACO or NASAA) eggs in the supermarket will generally be free range and show good hen welfare but often still industrial scale, so pesticides won’t be an issue but other health benefits (including nuitritional benefits flowing from what hen eats) won’t necessarily be present

Summary: Outside the Supermarket

• Certified Humane Choice or Free Range Farmers Association will usually be from smaller scale farms so may be better

• For health and taste: Look for freshest eggs and with hens that get a good portion of their diet from foraging plus sufficient safe handling

• Find out from the farmer direct; possibly look for biodynamic accreditation (only at specialist organic stores); or grow your own.

What can we do?• Keep advocating against battery cages • Support local small scale and direct production• Ask your local store to stock Humane Choice,

organic or biodynamic accredited eggs• Ask questions at farmers markets, stores and

cafes and check brand websites.• Expect good eggs to cost more and to have

seasonal fluctuations

Ask a person selling eggs at a farmers’ market:

• Are you the farmer? • What are the living conditions of the hens? – They have 24 hour access outside, OR outside in the day

and inside at night. – They have space to roam around outside and housing for

nesting and resting.– They have an area to dust bathe.– There are plants and insects for them to forage on.– They have access to shaded areas to escape hot sun and

make them feel safe.– There are maremma dogs and fences to keep them safe

from foxes.

• How much space do the hens have? How is the land and vegetation kept? How often are the hens rotated? Are other animals rotated onto the land?

• What are their houses like? Are they moveable? How often are they moved?

• Are the chicks bought from a breeder? Have they already been de-beaked when bought? Are the hens ever de-beaked?

• What are the hens fed? Where does the feed come from? Does it contain meat or other animal byproducts, colourants?

• What kind of farm do the hens live on? Does it solely focus on egg production?

If you want to look deeper…http://flavourcrusader.com/blog/2011/09/free-range-eggs-australia/#vic - A blog with information about lots of small alternative egg farms in Victoriahttp://happychooks.net.au - A searchable website to find cafes and restaurants that serve free range eggshttp://www.humanechoice.com.au/shop_humane_choice - List of Humane Choice accredited farmshttp://www.demeter.org.au/index.htm - Bio-dynamic accreditationhttp://www.uncooped.org/ - The (US) National Museum of Animals & Society’s online exhibition, “Un-Cooped: Deconstructing the Domesticated Chicken” exploring the origins of and the cultural attitudes towards the chicken with lots of information about egg and poultry farming.

If you want to look deeper…• Cornucopia Institute, Scrambled Eggs report – expose of

factory farming in the US egg industry. (excellent youtube summary of factory free range here)

• Meet Real Free Range Eggs, Mother Earth News, October/November 2007 – good summary of evidence on nutritional value of free range eggs.

• Water F. Wedin and Steven L. Faes (eds), Grassland: Quietness and strength for a new American agriculture

• But see also Jeffrey Kluger, Organic eggs: more expensive but no healthier Time, 8 July 2010; and Emily Sohn, Free-range chickens may be less healthy, ABC Science.

See also:

• Christine Parker, The truth about free range eggs is tough to crack

• Christine Parker, Carly Brunswick and Jane Kotey,, “The happy hen on your supermarket shelf: What choice does industrial strength free range represent for consumers?” Bio Ethical Inquiry, 2013 10(2), 165-186.