Cage-Free Hens are:

Debeaked with hot bloody blade at one day old with no anesthetic

Force molted ( intentionally starved to shock the body into another laying cycle)

Violently packed into a semi and trucked hundreds of miles to an agonizing slaughter when considered “spent” ( unable to keep laying eggs at a fast enough pace)

All of her brothers (roosters) are brutally killed as a baby chicks simply because they can’t lay eggs

Denied the opportunity to live a natural life in truly humane care

Battery Hens are:

Debeaked with hot bloody blade at one day old with no anesthetic

Force molted ( intentionally starved to shock the body into another laying cycle)

Violently packed into a semi and trucked hundreds of miles to an agonizing slaughter when considered “spent” ( unable to keep laying eggs at a fast enough pace)

All of her brothers (roosters) are brutally killed as a baby chicks simply because they can’t lay eggs

Denied the opportunity to live a natural life in truly humane care

The recognition of how horrible the short lives of “battery hens” are has led many people to stop contributing to the atrocity by simply not buying those eggs. Unfortunately, many other people have looked to so called “cage free/free range” eggs as an acceptable and humane alternative. Sadly the public is led to believe that “cage free” hens live a happy natural life – this is simply not so! Cage free/free range hens come from the same hatcheries that “battery hens come from, all of their male brothers are killed by suffocation or being ground up alive, the girls themselves endure the same bodily manipulations and mutilations, and they ALL ultimately end up at the same slaughterhouses when their “production” declines.

I am often asked “Don’t you think it is still better that people buy “cage free eggs rather than the others if they are going to buy eggs anyway?”

I feel the person actually wants to believe that their consumer dollar is not paying for someone else to commit animal abuse when in fact it is – no matter what production means were used.

It is like asking if I think strangulation is better than suffocation – my answer is: Neither is an acceptable option.

There is simply NO way to humanely produce eggs for human consumption.

First, I would not want anyone to buy “cage free” eggs if they are doing so because they have compassion for the animals and convince themselves that they have made a humane choice. One of the most destructive things we can do for the animals is to lie to our selves or allow ourselves to be fooled and misinformed into believing that animal agriculture of ANY kind is humane.

Second, the so called CAGE-FREE or FREE RANGE eggs are produced with an exorbitant profit margin in comparison to battery produced eggs. Therefore well meaning consumers will be unwittingly padding the already thick pockets of egg producers , hatcheries, and poultry slaughterhouses which will only allow them to increase the size of their operations and advertising budgets which will lead to even more suffering.

Third, the question forgets the most obvious choice: don’t buy eggs at all. Once people allow themselves to entertain the possibility of living egg-free, it’s quite empowering. They suddenly realize that Yes! It can be done. Millions of people before them have cut eggs and products made with eggs out of their lives and are doing just fine! Not only vegans - but millions of people from other cultures don’t eat eggs.

“Cage-Free vs. Battery”? Good news! It’s not an either/or – It’s Neither!