More than a slight eggs-aggeration
What do we really mean when we refer to eggs as being ‘free run’ or ‘free range’? Laura Brehaut
USING HER BEAK, A HEN WILL TURN HER EGG AN AVERAGE OF 50 TIMES IN A SINGLE DAY IN ORDER TO ROTATE THE EMBRYO INTO THE THE EGG WHITE AND ITS NUTRIENTS, ACCORDING TO PURDUE UNIVERSITY.
Trader Joe’s egg carton depicts a vast green field, dotted with hens happily foraging for food. This pastoral imagery is at the heart of a consumer protection lawsuit recently filed by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), which alleges the labelling is deceiving cage-free shoppers.
“The action seeks to stop Trader Joe’s from deceptively labelling its cage- free eggs and misleading consumers seeking eggs from hens raised in more natural conditions,” the American non- profit law organization said in a press release.
According to Mic, the carton illustration is in stark contrast to the actual conditions the specialty grocer’s hens live under. Rather than roaming free, pecking plants, worms and insects from the earth, they reside in industrial hen houses.
“These hens live in packed warehouses with thousands of other birds, and they are never exposed to the outdoors,” Tyler Lobdell, ALDF food law fellow, told Mic. “The illustration, paired with the phrase ‘cage- free’ in bold, paints a picture for the consumer that’s largely different from reality.”
Conditions for Canadian egg-laying hens are currently in flux, but as of March 2017, roughly 90 per cent lived in cramped battery cages. Space is so constrained in these enclosures that hens are unable to spread their wings, walk or engage in other natural behaviours such as laying their eggs in nests. Each bird reportedly has less floor space than the size of a standard letter-sized sheet of paper.
As part of a National Farm Animal Care Council code, Canadian egg farmers will entirely phase out battery cages by 2036 and transition to enriched cages or cage- free barns. Some animal welfare advocates, such as Mercy for Animals, view the long timeline as “simply outrageous.”
Food companies such as Tim Hortons, Burger King, Starbucks, McDonald’s and Subway have committed to serving exclusively cage-free eggs at all North American outlets by 2025. But a “cage-free” label simply means hens aren’t raised in battery cages. It doesn’t mean the birds have access to the outdoors or offer any assurances as to diet or the medications they may be given.
“Free- run” means that hens can roam freely but not necessarily outdoors, and not necessarily in spacious conditions (overcrowding can still occur). A “free-range” label refers to hens raised in an open barn system, which includes access to the outdoors, weather permitting.
According to the David Suzuki Foundation, certified organic eggs are the best choice as they “benefit from the highest welfare standards.” Third party labels, such as SPCA Certified, guarantee that the eggs were produced on farms that comply with their animal welfare guidelines.