Egg Industry Magazine Discusses Hen Welfare

November 5, 2002 The October issue of Egg Industry—a monthly magazine that reports the "news for the egg industry worldwide"—took a bold step away from its usual articles on the therapeutic benefits of eggs or the latest technological advances and published a frank discussion on laying hen welfare.

The 13-page article featured the opinions of The HSUS's Dr. Michael Appleby and Wayne Pacelle, as well as those of Compassion Over Killing's Paul Shapiro, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal's Bruce Friedrich, and United Poultry Concerns's Karen Davis. Authored by Charles Olentine, the editorial director of the magazine (and publisher of Watt Publishing, the parent company), the article begins with a startling admission: "No issue poses greater challenges to the egg industry than that of animal welfare."

The challenges are great because the plight of the laying hen is dire. Every year, millions of laying hens live in crowded cages (often stacked as high as five tiers), which lead to a variety of problems, including foot and feather damage. The birds's complete lack of exercise in these cages, coupled with the demands of high egg production, causes osteoporosis and leaves them unable to perform their normal behaviors. The egg industry also routinely starves the birds into a forced molt, which artificially stimulates more egg laying. Once they outlasted their usefulness, these "spent hens," as the industry calls them, are of little monetary value and are sent to slaughter.

In the article, The HSUS's Appleby explains that these practices occur because intensive agriculture has moved "away from a biological approach into a technological approach, measuring inputs/outputs, economic performance and has sometimes tended to forget that biological viewpoint. Industry tends to forget that these are animals."

The industry has taken a few small, hopeful steps in the right direction to deal with these problems. Earlier this year, the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR) launched some "Animal Welfare Program" guidelines, slight as they were, that could affect farms supplying virtually all of the fast food restaurants and supermarkets in the United States.

The Egg Industry story is yet another sign that the industry is willing to look honestly at hen welfare issues. The article includes not only interviews with the five animal-welfare advocates, but profiles of their organizations and an essay by Olentine, who admits that animal protectionists "are willing to go for the small victories that in toto will add up to radical change in how eggs are produced."

"Clearly, the article indicates that hen welfare is a growing concern to an industry that has previously paid little attention to the issue," says Appleby, vice president of the Farm Animals and Sustainable Agriculture section at The HSUS. "It is encouraging to see that advocates of animal welfare have caught the attention of this giant egg producing industry. While problems in the industry are still monstrous, their recognition of some of their own problems gives us cause for hope. The article was a rational discussion that may encourage more change as the industry begins to respond to consumer demands for hens to be raised in a more humane manner.

"The HSUS applauds the egg industry for its significant departure from the status quo, and we will continue to press for changes that will improve the welfare of laying hens," adds Appleby.

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