>>NARRATOR: Over the last 50 years, industrialized factory
farms have virtually replaced America’s family farms.
Most egg-laying hens are confined in battery cages.
On average, each bird has less space than a single sheet of letter-sized paper on which
to spend her entire life.
[PAUSE]
Unable even to spread their wings, caged hens are among the worst-abused animals in agribusiness.
>>SARAH SHIELDS: The scientific evidence is very clear, that
barren, restrictive environments are not good for animal welfare.
Hens in battery cages are deprived of doing almost every behavior that’s important to
them.
>>NARRATOR: The growing demand for animal welfare improvement
is causing many producers to convert to cage-free housing, which offers hens better welfare.
While most cage-free hens live in flocks that can consist of many thousands of birds and
often aren’t able to go outside, they can walk, spread their wings and lay their eggs
in nesting boxes.
Most cage-free hens also have perching and dust-bathing areas.
These simple things can significantly improve birds’ welfare.
[PAUSE] In addition to being cruel and inhumane, battery
cage confinement also threatens public health.
Congratulations Salmonella, you’re the leading cause of food poisoning-related deaths in
the United States.
And a number of major studies indicate that battery-cage egg production results in significantly
higher risk of salmonella infection.
The American Journal of Epidemiology reported that people who recently ate eggs from caged
hens had about twice the odds of being sickened by Salmonella.
In 2010, the largest egg recall in U.S. history occurred due to Salmonella in battery cage
operations.
But why?
>>DR.
GREGER: First, it’s just the sheer numbers of animals.
That leads to an enormous volume of potentially contaminated fecal dust that can spread this
infection very rapidly.
And the stress of that extreme confinement can cripple the birds' immune systems.
>>NARRATOR: The science is clear: Caged hens means more Salmonella, which can mean more
human illness.
It also means more pollution that harms the environment and nearby communities.
which can lead to fly infestations, noxious odors, increased asthma rates, and other health
problems.
The American Public Health Association has called for a moratorium on factory farms because
of their large concentrations of manure and their emissions of toxins and other pollutants.
Under pressure from voters, legislators, consumers and retailers, the egg industry has begun
shifting to cage-free production.
A food industry consultancy poll revealed that animal welfare is the third most important
issue to American restaurant patrons, outranking the environment, and buying local or organic.
In 2008, California voters banned cages for laying hens.
In 2009, Michigan also did the same.
All of Wal-Mart’s and Costco’s private brand eggs are now cage-free.
Food manufacturers like Sara Lee, Kraft, Otis Spunkmeyer and Pepperidge Farm are phasing
cage-free eggs into their supply chains.
Dozens of major restaurant chains use cage-free eggs.
And Hellmann’s mayonnaise is converting all 350 million eggs it uses to 100% cage-free.
>>PACELLE: It's cruel and inhumane to confine these animals
so severely, and we can do better.
There are alternatives to this for consumers, and there's no reason for these confinement
practices to exist today.