Ohio’s Egg Industry Seeks to Add a Factory Farm with 6 Million Birds |
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December 19, 2008
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©Humane Society International |
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Battery-caged hens are confined in seemingly endless rows atop each other. |
Ohio is already the second leading egg-producing state in the country with 28 million hens, nearly all of whom are confined in battery cages.
Now, the Ohio Department of Agriculture is accepting public input on draft permits to install and operate what will reportedly be one of the largest egg factory farms in the United States.
The 15 buildings on Hi-Q Egg Products' Union County property will have the capacity to intensively confine 6 million egg-laying hens.
Inhumane Conditions
Most of the nation's approximately 280 million egg-laying hens are intensively confined in barren, wire battery cages, stacked several tiers high and extending down long warehouses. A typical U.S. egg farm contains thousands of cages at an average space allowance of only 67 square inches per bird, less space than a single sheet of letter-sized paper.
Confinement in battery cages is so restrictive that these birds can barely move, let alone engage in many other important natural behaviors, such as nesting, foraging or even spreading their wings.
Pollution Factories
In addition to severely impairing animal welfare, factory farms are also notorious for the pollution and public health problems they create. Much of the environmental harm caused by factory farms comes from the volume of waste that must be stored and disposed of when continuously confining so many animals indoors, with some operations producing as much waste as an entire city.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), confined farm animals produce approximately 500 million tons of manure every year, amounting to about 3 times as much waste as humans produce in the United States. These vast amounts of waste contribute to water and air pollution in surrounding areas.
In 2003, Buckeye Egg Farm of Ohio was ordered to close down due to recurring complaints about fly infestations and manure spills. According to former Ohio Agriculture Director Fred Dailey, "The pollution and nuisance problems caused by this farm during the last decade were intolerable."
Pulblic Health Problems
The wealth of information linking factory farms with illness led the world's largest association of public health professionals, the American Public Health Association, to evaluate the issue.
In 2003, the organization issued a policy statement urging federal, state, and local governments and public health agencies to impose a moratorium on the construction of new factory farms "until additional scientific data on the attendant risks to public health have been collected and uncertainties resolved."
An Overwhelming Consensus
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©Compassion Over Killing |
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Chickens are sentient animals who care about what happens to them yet suffer immensely on factory farms. |
Earlier this year, after a 2.5-year examination, the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production released a report based, in part, on technical information provided by leading academics.
The report stated that the most intensive confinement systems used in animal agriculture, including battery cages for laying hens, constitute "inhumane treatment." Among the final recommendations put forth by the 15 Commissioners was a complete phase-out of battery cages.
U.S. consumers have also demonstrated their opposition to battery cages and other forms of intensive confinement—in the marketplace, polls, and the voting booth. Most recently, California voters overwhelmingly approved the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, a ballot initiative that will phase out the confinement of laying hens in battery cages.
Local residents have voiced their concerns about the proposed Hi-Q egg factory farm, joined by the county's commissioners, board of health and mental health association, as well as nearby townships and counties.
What You Can Do
Please stand up for farmed animals and tell the Ohio Department of Agriculture not to allow yet another cruel egg factory farm in the state.
Related Links
The HSUS's Campaign to Ban Battery Cages
Cage-Free Egg Production vs. Battery-Cage Egg Production
About Chickens
An HSUS Report: The Welfare of Animals in the Egg Industry
The Impact of Industrialized Animal Agriculture on the Environment
The Impact of Industrialized Animal Agriculture on Rural Communities
Endless Eggless Options
