Egg Land's Worst

Submitted by Anne Landman on

Rembrandt FarmsThe Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has filed a complaint (pdf) with the Federal Trade Commission to stop the country's largest egg producer, Rose Acre Farms -- makers of Eggland's Best eggs -- from making false and misleading statements in its marketing and advertising about how it treats chickens at the company's farms. On its Web site, posters and in media interviews, the company suggests that Rose Acre provides a "humane and friendly environment" for caged birds, that birds have plenty of space to "move around and socialize" with other chickens and that only chickens who are treated well will be "happy" enough to lay eggs. Rose Acre also claims that their chickens are "comfortable." In reality, according to HSUS, millions of hens are confined for their entire lives in barren wire cages stacked four and eight levels high. Cages are so densely packed that the birds cannot even spread their wings fully. In February and March 2010, HSUS conducted undercover investigations at several Rose Acre Farms locations and videotaped how the chickens are kept. Chickens lose limbs or endure broken bones from rough handling, some birds get trapped in the cage wire and become unable to reach food and water or get trampled to death, and some chickens die, with the carcasses left to rot in the cages for weeks or longer. Consumers have no way to verify producers' claims about how chickens are kept.

Main Source: 
AllGov.com, June 19, 2010
Topics: 
Animal Rights
Corporations
Ethics
Marketing

Comments

broadripple1 replied on

This reads like the rant of someone disassociated with reality, or covering up illegal or immoral activities. Obviously, how animals are treated is important to consumers. Why do we know that? Because Eggland's has done the market research and made it a big marketing point of their campaign. They wouldn't be lying to the public about conditions if it wasn't a factor in the consumer buying process. So, stop the whining about left wing politics. You don't get it. The consumer has spoken, which is far more powerful than dems or reps.

What Eggland's needs to do is stop lying, and don't lobby state legislatures for ag gag laws so that consumers can get the proper information they need to make good purchasing decisions. Personally, I'll pay more for eggs from a hen that is free range just because the egg is less toxic to humans. Yes, I used the word toxic. Factory farms are slowly killing humans with their chemicals. I don't eat beef at all anymore except from the local farm where I can see the buffalo and cattle roaming the fields. And, we're starting to get eggs from a friend who is raising chickens, so eventually, companies will either have to clean up their act, or face a loss of profits.

Jackie replied on

I agree with everything you said except that the public cares....the public doesn't care because in spite of knowledge of the cruelty of the egg industry, almost all households continue to purchase billions of eggs annually. If they cared, they would not do that. I buy only free range eggs and actually try to get them from local farms where I actually see the chickens myself. Well worth the effort.

Ana replied on

I will not eat any eggs unless they are raised humanely!!! Please stop the abuse please let them live!!! They are earning a chance at a decent living by supplying you goods dammit. Thank you to all who speak out for our living beings.

Daisysima replied on

I was shocked and sickened when I watched the video of how the chickens were being treated. I truly believe that regardless of the industry that you are in, you don't have to be cruel to get the job done. I am glad to know that there are organizations that exist that try to keep this kind of cruelty in check.

Alan Gordon replied on

I will tell you how i found out the chickens are mistreated. I tried to eat one of the eggs. The shell was brittle, so brittle I couldn't get the first one out of the carton whole. The egg yolk and egg white were mushy and ill defined. Finally, the egg tasted horrible to me. I just knew the eggs were from hens that suffered abuse.

shiraz replied on

EB eggs have thin brittle shells and they truly taste awful. Interesting that it crossed my mind too that these chickens are probably being badly fed and treated.
Most consumers are willing to pay extra for eggs that are humanely farmed.
How do we as consumers get to know which providers treat their animals well? Does such a resource exist?

Joanne replied on

The best way is to ask around your community, look on bulletin boards posted at farm or feed stores or on Craigslist and find a local farm that sells free range eggs. You can then go to that farm and see how the hens are treated. Also, more grocery stores are selling free range eggs now....I buy them at Kroger here in the Midwest. I pay $4.50 a dozen, but I don't care! It's worth it!

sandlewood replied on

there are plenty of ways to get protein. protein doesn't require animal torture...when will the evolution and development of the human brain catch up to this century? embarrassing to be of this race at times

Anonymous replied on

Not only is the factory farming of chickens inhumane to the chickens and wasteful, the chickens produced humanely taste better and provide better nutrition. How much fat do you need to remove from a factory produced chicken? A chicken who is allowed freedom of movement has relatively little fat. Factory raised meats are apt to be high in antibiotics, increasing the likelihood that those antibiotics will no longer work for you when you need them.

george purdy replied on

I have become interested in EB because their shells are stronger than other brands. In nature chickens lay eggs once a day, but most farms now shock them so that they lay twice a day. The challenge is to prevent the shells from becoming paper thin and brittle. Researchers have been working on this from at least 1965. I was then at Reading University, home of the leading Agriculture School in the UK. They were trying to alter the diet to achieve this goal, and progress was slow.

Clearly a lot of progress has been made since 1965, and especially, perhaps, by EB. I used to think they used once a day layers, their shells were so thick, but no company that large would do that.

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