TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2010


KLMNO


K EZ SU POLITICS & THE NATION Egg industry fighting efforts to increase cage sizes


As more states adopt new rules, producers worry about costs


BY DAN EGGEN Even before the recent salmo-


nella outbreak, the nation’s egg industry was struggling to fend off another threat: allegations that it was cruel to chickens. Egg producers are alarmed by


efforts to ban small cages for hens, a movement that has gainedmomentumin an increas- ing number of states. The 550 million eggs recalled


in connection with the salmonel- la contamination came from hens housed in industrial-style “battery cages,” in which birds are crammed against one anoth- er in a long battery of wire enclosures. The cages are common


throughout the industry but have been increasingly targeted by animal welfare groups as inhu- mane and unsanitary. But major egg producers say switching to cage-freemethodswould do little to improve safety and would add to the price of eggs. Cage-free eggs commonly cost


about twice as much as those produced by caged hens. The industry says even if cage-free eggs were mass-produced, the average cost per dozen still would be about 25 percent high- er.


In California, new legislation


spearheaded by the Humane So- ciety of the United States will eliminate the use of conventional battery cages starting in 2015. Companies linked to the De- Coster family of Iowa,which is at the center of the current salmo- nella outbreak, helped fund a $9 million effort to defeat the measure, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed into law this summer. Michigan has also adopted


cage limits,whichwill take effect in 2019, while less-stringent reg- ulations have been approved in several other states. Ohio an- nounced an agreement between


animal rights activists and indus- try groups last month that will bar new battery-cage facilities but exempt current operators. Many fast-food restaurants,


such as Burger King and Subway, are also increasing their use of cage-free eggs, while Compass Group, the world’s largest food- service provider, now uses them exclusively. “The cage-free movement is


not only about providing a hu- mane environment for animals,” said Paul Shapiro, senior director of the society’s End Factory Farming campaign. “There is also a strong food-safety component as well.” But the United Egg Producers,


the U.S. industry’s top lobbying group, says there is no difference in safety between eggs produced by caged or free-range hens. The cooperative-style organization, based in Alpharetta, Ga., repre- sents companies that provide about 85 percent of the 80 billion eggs produced in the United States each year. Group spokesmanMitchHead


said measures to limit or outlaw the use of battery cages are based on emotions and flawed readings of scientific evidence.He warned that banning such cages alto- getherwould lead to a 25 percent increase in egg prices, or about 25 cents per dozen at the current Grade A retail average. “We would prefer that this be


worked out through the market- place and based on science,” Head said. “Instead, it’s become a political and ballot-box issue. Thatmakes us concerned.” The United Egg Association


PAC, the industry’smain political action committee, has donated about $1.1million tomembers of Congress during the past decade, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Poli- tics, a research group. The source of the current out-


break is unclear, but the Food and Drug Administration has identified health and sanitation problems at the two Iowa farms. Battery cages, sometimes


stacked to the ceiling in ware- houses, can hold up to a dozen hens each and are often too small


SETH PERLMAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS


Hens nest in open enclosures at the organic Curry Farm in Dawson, Ill. The eggs below are fakes that are used to attract the hens to lay more eggs. The Curry Farm has not been affected by the recent egg recall.


to allow the birds to spread their wings or even turn around. Ani- mal rights activists point to stud- ies showing that salmonella in- fection rates are up to 20 times higher in caged facilities. But some researchers say that


the causal connection is unclear and that any increased riskmight have more to do with the sheer scale of the operations, which often involve 1 million hens or more at one location. Industry groups and companies argue that such “egg housing systems” are cleaner than “free-range” farms because the chickens are kept away from rodents, feces and other potential sources of infec- tion. In California, the egg industry


and other agribusiness groups spent nearly $9 million in an attempt to head off that state’s animal-welfare initiative, which requires that egg-laying hens, veal calves and pregnant sows be able to “lie down, stand up, fully extend their limbs and turn around freely” while in confine- ment. In July, the restrictions were extended to producers of all whole eggs sold in the state, although there is disagreement about whether larger cages would be allowed.


One of the leading opponents


of the California initiative was Austin “Jack” DeCoster, the Iowa egg producer at the center of the current outbreak. Two compa- nies DeCoster owns, Wright County Egg in Iowa and Quality Egg ofNewEngland, contributed $200,000 to the effort. Hillan- dale Farms, which has close ties to DeCoster, gave $96,000, re- cords show. DeCoster spokeswoman Hin-


da Mitchell referred questions about battery cages to the egg producers’ group. Two California lawmakers,


Reps. Diane Watson (D) and Elton Gallegly (R), have intro- duced a bill that would bar the federal government from buying eggs produced in battery-cage facilities. The measure, which has about three dozen co-spon- sors, has been referred to the House Agriculture and govern- ment reformcommittees. InOhio,which is second in egg


production behind Iowa, the Hu- mane Society collected about 500,000 signatures this year on a petition for a ballot initiative modeled on the California refer- endum. Worried about the prospect, farm interests and Gov. Ted


Strickland (D) negotiated a last- minute deal with the Humane Society that prevents the use of battery cages at any egg farms that begin operating after the end of the year. The agreement throws into


doubt the future of a proposed egg facility in the state that would be home to 6 million chickens and boost Ohio’s total egg production by 20 percent. Marion Nestle, a food-safety


expert at New York University, said that restrictions on battery cages are good for the health of animals but added that many free-range facilities are also plaguedwith crowding and other problems. She said the egg indus- try will continue to oppose new restrictions for simple reasons of economics. “Why would they want to


change the way they’re doing things?” asked Nestle, the author of books including “What to Eat” and “Food Politics.” “It’s easy to control, easy to manage and a great way to produce cheap eggs. That’s the reality ofwhy they do it this way.”


eggend@washpost.com


Staff writer Lyndsey Layton contributed to this report.


DIGEST NEVADA


Plane crash kills 1, injures 3 near Vegas A small plane crashed and


burst into flames on a residential street in southern Nevada on Monday, killing one person and badly injuring three others, au- thorities said. Las VegasMetropolitan Police


Sgt. John Sheahan said two male and two female passengers were aboard the single-engine Piper Cherokeewhenit crashed inHen- derson, just south of Las Vegas. Sheahan said it was a miracle


that no one on the ground was injured. “I think we can attribute that to the pilot trying to put it down in a safe place,” he said. “You’re talking, the plane crashed maybe 20 or 30 feet” from the nearest home, he added. Police Lt. Joe Ojeda told the


Las Vegas Sun that the plane struck two block walls, a street- light and a tree before landing in the street, and that residents pulled two occupants from the burning wreckage before fire- fighters arrived. “It appeared the way the air-


craft was lined up that he did try to land on the road itself,” Ojeda told the Sun. Federal Aviation Administra-


tion spokesman Ian Gregor said the plane took off from Hender- son Executive Airport shortly af- ter 8 a.m. and was unable to gain altitude. The pilot tried to return but crashed about two miles northwest of the airport. —Associated Press


Army veteran takes hostages in Ga.:Aformer soldier seeking help for mental problems at a Georgia military hospital took threework- ers hostage at gunpoint Monday before authorities persuaded him to surrender.Noonewashurtand no shots were fired at WinnArmy Community Hospital at Fort Stewart, about 40 miles south- west of Savannah, a fort spokes- man said. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Phil- lips, a senior Fort Stewart com- mander, said the former soldier wasseeking help for mental prob- lems that were “connected, I’m quite certain, to his past service.” —Associated Press


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