Holly Spindler
As the consumption of eggs climbs, we are busting the myths behind the egg industry
It’s easy to see why vegetarians don’t eat meat or fish - the impact on the animal is so obviously final and brutal. But often people struggle to understand why some take that next step and avoid dairy and eggs. Here are some of the most common questions.
What’s so bad about eating eggs?
The egg industry is big business, with 12.2 billion eggs being eaten in the UK in 2015. Whilst hens laying eggs may conjure up images of small countryside farms, unfortunately, this is far from reality. Producers are just as concerned with profit as in any other industry. To meet increasing demand, the production of eggs has become intensive, and this has had a devastating impact on the lives of chickens.
Not only do many laying hens suffer each day in cages or in overcrowded barns, but the male chicks are discarded like rubbish.
You can find out more about the lives of laying hens here
Won’t chickens lay eggs anyway?
Wild chicken breeds lay around 12 eggs a year. But selective breeding and factory farming processes mean that nowadays hens lay over 300 eggs a year.
This puts huge pressure on their bodies and hens often suffer from prolapse of their vent - the egg laying duct. They also endure complications from calcium deficiency, such as brittle bones and other disorders which cause premature, painful death.
I eat free-range, so that's ok right?
Free-range or barn eggs are an improvement on caged, as in the EU there is legislation with minimum requirements for welfare. In barns, EU law dictates there should be a maximum of 9 birds per m2 and ⅓ of the floor should have litter (like sawdust) for foraging. They are provided with perch space and a single nest per 7 hens.
Free-range means different things in different countries. In the EU each hen has to have access to 4m2 of outside space during the daytime. In other countries, like the USA or Japan, the amount of outside space is not specified or even required.
Unfortunately, simply providing some outdoor space doesn’t always work. Hens have predators and, in the wild, will only feel safe in areas with shelter or raised areas. Some will be too afraid to go outside and remain in the crowded barn all their lives. Even those that want to go outside may not be able to if there are more dominant hens being territorial around the exits.
Providing outside space does not always mean that the conditions in the barns are up to scratch and investigations into farms have previously revealed horrendous welfare violations that these birds suffer each day.
And, regardless of the system hens are kept in, they are still trapped in the same bodies, designed to prioritise egg laying over their own health.
So, whilst choosing free-range over caged eggs is a step in the right direction, unfortunately the commercial production of eggs will inevitably cause suffering to hens.
Are the hens treated better when the eggs have the red lion stamp?
The Red Lion Stamp, or British Lion Mark, was introduced in 1998 to reduce the risk of salmonella caused by eggs. It has been hugely influential in practically eradicating salmonella in the UK, but unfortunately has limited impact on the health and welfare of the chickens producing eggs.
Chickens are dumb, so why should I care?
It is a very common misconception that chickens are stupid. There have been multiple studies demonstrating that chickens are not so ‘bird-brained’ as you may think. They have demonstrated the ability to count, show foresight, as well as being able to recognise over 100 individual faces and build close bonds.
Check out our 10 facts about chickens you may not know.
But buying British eggs is OK right?
The UK does have better legislation around welfare than many other countries outside the EU, and farms are not allowed to use barren cages. However, whether kept in a cage or free-range, these hens are still suffering throughout their short lives. They are laying over 25 times what they naturally would be, their bodies abused for the eggs that we consume, and their lives are cut short when the industry has no further use for them.
And it’s not just the hens. Millions of male chicks are killed within just 72 hours of being born, their lives treated as worthless because they cannot lay eggs and are not profitable to raise for meat.
Whenever we use an animal for food, and especially when profits are put above welfare, we are causing an animal to suffer.
What are we doing?
To find out more about factory farms and ways you can help The Humane League UK improve the lives of animals across the world, sign up to our email list at the bottom of the page.
Want to make a difference for animals? Join thousands of others and start by signing the petition below, it'll only take a moment.
