Graham Wants Stores to Label Eggs From Caged Hens

D.C. Council member Jim Graham said he doesn't know where his eggs come from when he shops at his local supermarket, but he would like to.

Graham is proposing a District law that would require stores that sell eggs to indicate whether the product was produced by hens that were kept in cages. Sellers would be required to hang signs with black letters at least one inch tall that say "Eggs may be from caged hens."

"It's not a radical proposal. It's not an eccentric proposal," said Graham (D-Ward 1). "This is about animal cruelty. This is not just about chickens."

The law he proposes would be the first of its kind in the country, according to the Humane Society of the United States and United Egg Producers. They are adversaries in a growing national movement against caging hens, a standard practice.

Animal rights groups and the supermarket and egg industries have been discussing Graham's bill. "We see it as a government-mandated marketing program," said Erik Lieberman, director of government affairs for the National Grocers Association. "We don't need a city mandating that signs go up in every grocery store."

Paul Shapiro of the Humane Society said it could set a precedent. "The bill is important in that it protects consumers who are concerned about animal cruelty. It would be a tremendous step forward," he said.

About 95 percent of eggs sold are produced by caged hens, said Mitch Head, a spokesman for United Egg Producers, which represents about 85 percent of U.S. egg producers. A decade ago, the number was closer to 100 percent.

Last week, the D.C. Attorney General's Office and 15 states won a settlement against United Egg Producers, which agreed to drop "Animal Care Certified" logos from egg cartons, responding to a charge that the message was misleading. The industry group paid a $100,000 fine.

According to the Humane Society, national chains Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplace have banned eggs produced by caged hens.

In the District, American University, George Washington University, Gallaudet University and Georgetown University and its law school have banned or reduced the use of such eggs.

The trend merges consumer regulation with animal rights issues, said Shapiro, director of the Factory Farming Campaign at the Humane Society. "There's a marriage here from those interested in protecting consumers and those interested in protecting animals," he said.

Shapiro appears in a two-minute film about caged hens on the Humane Society's Web site, http://www.hsus.org .

The film shows dozens of hens with unkempt feathers squeezed into rows of cages. The birds are susceptible to infection, injury and the loss of feathers in such close quarters, the film says.

United Egg Producers denies that caging the birds is cruel, Head said. The cages are stacked vertically, with four or five in a column, to maximize space and cut costs, he said.

Caging is economical and is what the market is demanding, Head said.

A regular carton of eggs costs about $1.20; a carton of cage-free eggs can cost $2.50 to $3, Head said.

Cage-free eggs, which Head called "specialty eggs," are already labeled. A shopper should assume that eggs without the label are produced using the normal method of caging, he said.

Special-interest groups should not dictate what's on a label, Head said.