Skip to main content

The Great Egg Bill Debate

Support Provided By
eggs-600
Photo by gottgraphicsdesign

In late April, Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced a bill that, on the surface, seemed like a slam dunk. If passed, the Egg Products Inspection Act of 2013 would set a national standard for the humane treatment of hens who lay eggs, while making sure that their yolky droplings are labeled correctly. (Note: If a band named The Yolky Droplings doesn't play The Satellite within the next calendar year, I'll be very disappointed in all of you.) Co-sponsors of the bill include Sen. Debbie Stabenow from Michigan, and Sen. Susan Collins from Maine, a Republican, giving the whole thing that rare bipartisan feel that makes everyone all warm and fuzzy inside.

To give you just a taste of it, the specifications for how hens would be treated on a national level would be as follows:

The bill would outlaw the practice of starving chickens to increase egg production, require that conventional battery cages are replaced with housing systems that almost doubles the space for each hen, and require that all egg laying hens would be provided with nesting boxes and scratching areas.

I've already spoken plenty about the need for accurate food labels, so of course the fact that labels for eggs will now be standard across state lines is some good news. And less cramped conditions for hens is another bit of happiness, especially in the wake of studies showing that eggs laid in cramped environments increases the risk of salmonella poisoning. So: Better labeling practices, less-cramped cages, Democrats and Republicans and the Human Society and the United Egg Producers all coming together to back this thing. Seems like it'd just fly through Congress without anyone talking trash about it, right?

Wrong.

Enter the opposition: The Humane Farming Association. They're not one bit happy about it, calling Feinstein and company's proposal "The Rotten Egg Bill."

Their general issue is that the bill allows for the use of cages at all. They say that the legislation "would establish egg factory cages as a national standard that could never be challenged or changed by state law or public vote." (Bolding theirs.) If a state or local governing body wants to introduce a bit of legislation that'd actually make the cages roomier or allow the hens to roam around freely, they suggest, then the change would never occur because the standard's already been set. "[H]ens would be forever locked in cages," they claim. And this is where things really start to get interesting.

Enter the opposition to the opposition: The Humane Society of the U.S., who are calling out the Humane Farming Association (HSUS and HFA from now on, respectively, in order to avoid all of this "humane" confusion) for being a bit too stringent with their standards. Basically, the HSUS is calling the HFA a bunch of hippies who don't get how the real world works:

"[W]hile it condemns farm animal protection bills it thinks don't go far enough, HFA has never taken part in any campaign that has succeeded in banning any farm animal confinement practice anywhere... [A]nyone who understands the current Congress knows that passing federal legislation to outlaw all types of cages is not a realistic option."

Ouch.

HSUS admits that the new legislation may not be the best possible law ever created, but "having the chance to create a national standard to improve the lives of all hens in the nation is an opportunity that the animal protection movement should seize." It's a step in the right direction, in other words. The Feinstein-introduced bill helps hens way more than it hurts them. And to actually oppose legislation that makes things better now in order to hold out hope for a future that may never come shows a lack of understanding of how the government works. To summarize, they lay it on pretty thick:

The HSUS believes in tangible victories for animals, and that progress begets progress--and the federal bill on hen protection is an important advancement toward a more humane society.

Stay tuned. This is certainly going to be a fun debate to watch.

Support Provided By
Read More
A black and white photo of an adult dressed as the easter bunny with a giant costumed head, holding a little girl on their left who gives it a kiss on the cheek and, with his right arm, holding a little boy who brings his hands to his eyes as though wiping away tears.

Behold the Bunnies and Bonnets of L.A.'s Past Easter Celebrations

The onset of the spring season heralds the arrival of fragrant flowers in bloom — and all the critters that enjoy them, including the Easter bunny and families who anticipate his arrival with egg hunts, parades and questionable fashion choices.
A black and white image of an elephant holding a broom with its trunk. A man is seen near the elephant, walking towards the animal.

Lions and Tigers and Cameras! How the Movies Gave Los Angeles a Zoo

The early days of the movies in Los Angeles inadvertently allowed visitors to experience the largest collection of animals in the western United States. When animals weren't appearing in a movie, they were rented out to other film companies, performed for studio visitors, or in the case of filmmaker William Selig's collection — an opportunity to create one of Los Angeles' first zoos.
A vertical, black and white portrait of a blonde woman wearing a sparkly four-leaf clover costume as she holds her arms out and extends a leg as though in a curtsy.

Irish for a Day: L.A.'s History of 'Going Green' on St. Patrick's Day

Whether it was a parade, dance, tea party, home celebration or just enjoying a good ol' wee dram of whisky, here's a photo essay of how Los Angeles donned its green apparel to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and embrace the luck o' the Irish over the years.