Animal safety groups have been pushing the restaurant industry to choose egg suppliers that use cage-free-produced eggs. Last month, animal protection charity Compassion Over Killing used a graphic video to pressure Dunkin' Donuts to stop using battery-cage-produced eggs. Some chains, including Wendy's, have begun using eggs produced by cage-free hens as part of an agreement with The Humane Society of the United States.
Now, a new study by economic consulting group Promar International shows that consumers would be forced to pay 25 percent more for eggs if animal rights activists succeed in getting only non-cage eggs sold in the United States. That increase would cost consumers $2.6 billion more each year for eggs.
U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics indicate that on average during early September 2009, one dozen grade A "regular" eggs were advertised at retail for $1.00 per dozen compared to $1.59 per dozen for cage-free. Cage-free eggs cost more because they require more land, more labor, more energy and more food per hen, Tom Earley, the author of the study, said. Cage-free chickens also tend to have more diseases which need to be treated with expensive medicines, and they have higher mortality rates.
The study predicts that such a dramatic consumer cost increase could open the door to a sharp rise in egg imports from other countries that have far lower food safety and animal welfare standards than the United States. Egg imports could rise from virtually zero today to 7 billion eggs annually, straining the ability of the U.S. government's food safety inspection system.
Eggs are produced commercially in 49 states and approximately 95 percent of egg-laying hens in the United States are housed in modern cage facilities. The cost to farmers of converting their modern hen houses into cage-free facilities would be $7.5 billion, the study estimates. The availability of credit and local permits could be a major obstacle for many farmers.
Bans on modern cage housing systems already are being implemented in California over the next five years and several other states because of pressure from animal rights groups. Similar bans are being implemented in Germany next year and in many European countries in the next few years.
