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 ID: 236379
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Organic and free range eggs" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
Organic and free range eggs vs industrial supermarket eggs:more than just an animal welfare issue
Prof Christine Parker (Law School, Monash University
)Slide2
OutlineCaged hens: animal welfare issuesBeyond animal welfare: other impacts of industrial supermarket egg productionHealth value of organic and free range eggsMisleading labelling : Is it possible to buy healthy organic or free range eggs?Slide3
Caged hens: animal welfare issuesSlide4Slide5Slide6Slide7
Beyond animal welfare: other impacts of industrial egg productionSlide8Slide9
Negative Health Consequences of Industrial Egg FarmingPublic 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 riskSlide10
Negative Health Consequences of Industrial Egg FarmingPublic 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 riskSlide11
Health value of organic and free range eggsSlide12Slide13Slide14Slide15Slide16
Is it possible to buy healthy organic/free range eggs?Slide17
20, 000 hens/ha29% 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].Slide18Slide19Slide20Slide21
Competing standardsSlide22Slide23Slide24Slide25
ChoiceThe 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 - $9.50
Organic stores
$6.50 - $10.99Slide26Slide27Slide28
Summary: Supermarket EggsBig issue is industrial production method regardless of whether labelled cage, free range or organicCertified 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 presentSlide29
Summary: Outside the SupermarketCertified Humane Choice or Free Range Farmers Association will usually be from smaller scale farms so may be betterFor 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.Slide30
What can we do?Keep advocating against battery cages Support local small scale and direct productionAsk your local store to stock Humane Choice, organic or biodynamic accredited eggsAsk questions at farmers markets, stores and cafes and check brand websites.Expect good eggs to cost more and to have seasonal fluctuationsSlide31
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
.Slide32
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?Slide33
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 eggs
http://www.humanechoice.com.au/shop_humane_choice
- List of Humane Choice accredited farms
http://www.demeter.org.au/index.htm
- Bio-dynamic accreditation
http://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.Slide34
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.Slide35
See also:Christine Parker, The truth about free range eggs is tough to crackChristine 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.