The typical battery caged hen — an egg-laying hen that is caged for industrial production — spends its life cramped in a space smaller than the size of a piece of paper, which disables the animal from natural behaviors.
For the past two years, the IU student organization Revitalizing Animal Well-Being, or RAW, which aims to promote healthy lives for animals and reform animal advocacy practices, has petitioned for purchasing cage-free eggs for Residential Programs and Services dining halls.
“IU gets some of their eggs from battery cages,” said RAW member and junior Cristina Talucci. “It’s inhumane because they can’t move around or see the light of day.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture currently has no strict standards for what constitutes cage-free eggs. In general, Talucci said these eggs come from hens that live free of individual cages.
They also have access to an area outside of the housing facility that allows them to roam in the open air.
However, the size of the outside space is at the discretion of the farmer, as is the number of hens that are housed in a single cage-free facility — which can lead to crowding situations.
“Cage-free is not free-range,” Talucci said. “It’s not a chicken utopia, but it’s a step in the right direction.”
Though studies have yielded mixed results on the improved nutritional content of cage-free eggs, most evidence shows these eggs exhibit a reduced risk of salmonella.
Both California and Michigan have already passed laws requiring all eggs to be cage-free, while other states are considering following their lead.
Beginning last year, after the petitioning of student groups, RPS began to serve cage-free eggs at Collins’s Edmondson Dining Room. Since then, cage-free eggs have expanded to Landes Dining Room in Read Center and Gresham Food Court in Foster Quad.
The slow but steady introduction of cage-free eggs is part of RPS’s research phase, said Ancil Drake, executive chef for RPS.
There are a number of factors weighing on the transition to cage-free, he said, including price, vendors and student interest.
The average cost of a cage-free egg product is 51 percent higher than traditional eggs. However, advocates for cage-free eggs don’t see price as a drawback.
“You can make anything cheaper by being unethical,” Talucci said. “It comes down to if you believe, if you believe that animals have the right to live and be happy.”
The specific egg provider is also of concern for RPS, because the requirements for cage-free are so varied.
“We want to know where our eggs come from,” Drake said. “We need to see these providers before we make any choice. What are the benefits or drawbacks? I’ve heard things on both sides. There are good and bad aspects of the cage-free system.”
The biggest part of RPS’s response will depend on student involvement.
“I would like to hear from RPS residents,” Drake said. “We haven’t really heard from them yet. If this is an issue with students, we want to respond.”
Though RAW has been collecting student signatures both online and in paper form, RPS needs to see a more structured format of student response.
“The petition doesn’t really say very much,” Drake said. “What I would like to have is a little student education out there and then see how they choose. I’m not sure if we have done a very good job at advertising our efforts.”
After evaluating potential cage-free egg sources next semester, RPS will survey students regarding the issue, Drake said.
Until then, Talucci said she encourages students who want to help to sign the online petition and have their friends do so as well or simply contact RPS and voice their concerns.
For more information, visit www.rps.indiana.edu.
Advocates push ‘cage-free’ eggs
RPS continues research into price, vendors
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