In 2008, California made history when Prop 2, a ballot initiative that banned gestation crates, battery cages, and veal crates, passed by an overwhelming majority.
The law, which is set to take effect in 2015, is already drawing fire from out-of-state egg producers.
According to the legislation, egg sellers in California are prohibited from selling eggs that come from facilities that use battery cages, even if they’re produced out of state. This prompted the state of Missouri, which exports about a third of its eggs to California, to file a lawsuit claiming that Prop 2 “infringes on the interstate commerce protections of the U.S. Constitution.”
In what is sure to be a heated legal battle, the fate of countless egg-laying hens hangs in the balance.
Just four weeks before Prop 2 passed in California, MFA released a harrowing undercover investigation inside Norco Ranch, the state’s largest egg producer. The hidden-camera video showed birds packed in cages so tightly they could hardly move, live birds neglected on dead piles, and hens injured and trapped by cage wire.
The best way to help protect sensitive birds from this unspeakable abuse is to avoid consuming eggs. For amazing egg-free recipes and tips on baking without eggs, visit ChooseVeg.com.
