Panel argues humaneness of egg production

By JOHN HOLLAND
jholland@modbee.com

last updated: September 04, 2008 05:21:24 AM

About 250 people gathered in a church hall Wednesday evening to ponder what Jesus would do if he were in the egg business.

First United Methodist Church in Modesto held a forum on a Nov. 4 ballot measure that would ban the small cages used for most egg production in California.

Proponents said the cages, with as little as 67 square inches of floor space per hen, do not allow the birds to stand, turn around or flap their wings.

"Are we that miserly, are we that uncharitable, that we do not allow these living, feeling, suffering creatures to move in the most basic ways?" said Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive officer of The Humane Society of the United States.

Opponents, including leaders in the egg industry, said the cages provide comfort for the hens and the alternatives would increase egg prices.

"The birds stand up, sit down, lay down, flap their wings and clearly show they are content," said Jill Benson, vice president of J.S. West & Co., a Modesto-based producer. "Stressed-out birds do not lay eggs."

The event was part of a series of panel discussions on how politics and Christian values intertwine. It started with a forum on same-sex marriage last week. A discussion on immigration policy is set for next week.

Wednesday's panelists talked about ethics as much as economics as they laid out their positions on the cage measure, Proposition 2.

It would ban the use of small cages as of 2015. It also applies to enclosures for pregnant pigs and veal calves, but those industries are minor in California.

Opponent Nancy Reimers, a private veterinarian based in Gustine, said that with a typical hen's wingspan, about 5 square feet of floor space would be needed to keep it from touching other birds and the cage walls.

Reimers said alternatives would increase the chance of eggs touching manure, which could put human health at risk.

Pacelle, whose group is a major backer of the measure, said the industry sells cage-free eggs to some consumers, without this health concern.

He noted that chickens raised for meat are kept mostly in barns where they can roam over a large area.

The Rev. Michael Bruner, a religion professor at Azusa Pacific University and consultant to The Humane Society, said the cages interfere with the hens' instinct to perch, make nests and take dust baths.

He noted that he used to live on a Sonoma County farm and knows well the needs of animals.

"It's not an anti-farmer measure," Bruner said. "It's an anticruelty measure."

Benson, whose company turns out about 1.2 million eggs a day at three farms, said the measure would triple production costs. This would give out-of-state competitors an advantage, she said.

"It doesn't really change how your eggs are produced; it changes where they are produced," Benson said.

Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation in Modesto, said one of his staff members found a $5 carton of cage-free eggs in a store. Many Central Valley residents cannot afford that, he said.

"It's almost an issue of elitism if you tell people that they have to buy a fancy carton of eggs," Mattos said.

He added that transporting eggs from other states would increase the emissions believed to be causing climate change.

Pacelle said an egg industry economist has estimated that the measure would add just a penny to the cost of each egg.

He said the industry already has sharply raised egg prices, and reaped big profits as a result.

Bee staff writer John Holland can be reached at jholland@modbee.com or 578-2385.

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