Consumers Decry Cages

Consumers asked to compare cage-free methods of egg production to traditional battery-cage confinement practices said that they would prefer for hens to be raised with more room to breathe. The study was conducted by United Egg Producers and surveyed 1,000 randomly selected people about different approaches to farming eggs. Forty-three percent of people preferred cage-free farming methods, while 32 percent advocated for an alternative cage system comparable to the one used by European egg producers. In 2012, every country in the European Union is required to replace battery cages with larger pens that afford egg-laying hens a comfortable amount of room. In addition to consumer support for cage-free farming, lawmakers in California and Michigan have passed legislation requiring better living conditions for farm animals.