Californians for Humane Farms Calls Economic Study Classic Bait and Switch – Californians Can Afford to Treat Animals Humanely

Egg industry groups representing factory farms currently reaping historic profits are misleading the public about the California Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act and making wild claims about egg prices. It’s a classic bait-and-switch: By alarming voters with pocketbook issues, they’re attempting to distract Californians from the obvious animal welfare problems associated with confining animals in cages so small they can’t turn around or stretch their limbs.

“The fact is, the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act is a modest reform that won’t be costly to implement,” says Jennifer Fearing, the chief economist for The Humane Society of the United States. “The egg industry’s own California-based economist reports that switching to cage-free eggs costs producers less than one penny per egg more than eggs laid by hens crammed into tiny wire cages.” According to California’s Legislative Analyst, the fiscal impact of this initiative is limited to minor costs that will be offset by revenue from fines. Producers will have until 2015 to phase in more humane production practices.

“It is cruel and inhumane to chain veal calves by the neck and confine them in tiny stalls, keep pigs in metal cages barely larger than their bodies, and give hens less space than a letter-sized sheet of paper in which to live their lives,” added Fearing. “All animals deserve humane treatment, including those raised for food.”

The true cost to Californians is when factory farms cut corners at the risk of our health. The recent Humane Society of the United States’ investigation of a Chino slaughter plant exposed the cruel treatment of sick and crippled cows, threatening the safety of school children and leading to the largest meat recall in American history. 

The Pew Commission on Industrial Animal Production — an independent, prestigious panel chaired by former Kansas Governor John Carlin and that included former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman — said the California ballot measure includes “the types of modest animal welfare public policy improvements that the Commissioners recommend implementing.” 

We can do better. Major retailers like Wolfgang Puck and Burger King are phasing in the sale of products from farmers who do not confine animals in tiny cages.

The California Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act is endorsed by The Humane Society of the United States; Farm Sanctuary; leaders of the Episcopal, Methodist, and Catholic churches; the Center for Food Safety and Union of Concerned Scientists; environmental groups such as Sierra Club California and Defenders of Wildlife; and hundreds of veterinarians throughout the state. 

-30-

Californians for Humane Farms is sponsored by The Humane Society of the United States, Farm Sanctuary, and other animal protection groups, family farmers, veterinarians, and public health professionals.