Agriculture Reference
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greater mortality and injury rates. It is nearly impossible to
find any animal scientist in the United States who expresses
with confidence that cage-free systems are unambiguously
better for hens than the cage system, or, for that matter, that
cage systems are better than cage-free. This is because there
are trade-offs (pros and cons) in every housing system.
Then came the unexpected. Just as the debate between cage
and cage-free egg production looked as if it were about to
become bitter and prolonged, the United Egg Producers (larg-
est egg producer group in the United States) and HSUS reached
an agreement on how hens should be raised. In 2011 they both
agreed to jointly pursue federal legislation requiring enriched
colony cages (among other farming standards), where hens are
given sufficient space to comply with Prop 2, plus be allowed
perches, scratching areas, and private nest boxes. Moreover,
the animal scientists who advise the United Egg Producers
supported the plan, and enriched cages are generally regarded
by most animal scientists to provide for better hen behaviors
than cage systems.
Why did these two opponents reconcile? The HSUS prob-
ably believed it would benefit laying hens, although HSUS has
historically campaigned for cage-free egg production. It likely
knew it would also set a precedent by which it could lobby for
more regulations at the federal level. The egg producers were
perhaps motivated by the fact that state-specific laws on caged
eggs are so variable and this legislative agreement could halt
costly battles across state lines. Likewise, if producers in cer-
tain states were to incur higher production costs, they surely
would want producers in other states to do the same—thus the
push for nationwide uniformity. Some have even suggested
that higher animal welfare standards allow the egg industry
to collectively reduce egg production and boost prices, but
there is no public evidence to support this claim.
A mutually agreeable solution was reached, and the
problem was solved, it seemed. Senator Diane Feinstein
(D-CA) introduced the legislation in May 2012, but then
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