Dive Brief:
- A 2016 Massachusetts ballot initiative could impose new regulations that would require that U.S. egg-laying hens, as well as breeding pigs and veal calves, have more room to move around in their confinement. Though the United Egg Producers fought a similar ballot in California, which passed in 2008, this time around, the trade group is not raising money to fight against it.
- "UEP has not entirely surrendered, though: It told Politico it will 'educate lawmakers, voters and consumers,' and in a statement to Quartz said that it believes that 'the proposal from HSUS is misguided and unnecessary' and that it 'is still evaluating [its] options,'" Quartz reported.
- These requirements would be not only for Massachusetts farms but farms in other states that sell eggs in Massachusetts.
Dive Insight:
The egg and pork industries say that raising animals outside of cages is more expensive and warn that those higher costs will ultimately be passed down to the consumer.
Egg prices have already skyrocketed due to a widespread shortage caused by the country's bird flu epidemic earlier this year and continue to rise to their highest prices in over 30 years. If the bird flu returns in the fall, as some experts believe, those prices could increase even more.
That coupled with this 2016 ruling for caged hens could do a serious number on the price of eggs throughout the supply chain and at the grocery store, including for the food companies who use those eggs in their products. Some food companies are looking to egg replacements to control costs, such as those from Hampton Creek, which has been in the headlines recently due to its potential threat to the egg industry.
Celebrities came out earlier this year against caged hens, with Brad Pitt and Bill Maher taking on Costco's caged hens policy. In a scathing New York Times editorial, Maher called the practice "business as usual." In response, Costco said that there are those in the debate who believe cages are actually safer for hens.