I buy cage-free eggs. Will I eat an egg when I know nothing of its mother's well-being? Yes, I will. But I've seen the film clips about how large-scale egg farms work and it makes me queasy. I don't even particularly relate to chickens (I'm more of a mammal gal), but it seems like an easy call. Give the chickens a better life, they produce their eggs in a relatively happy state, it's a win-win. I'd like one soft-boiled with a lot of salt and butter, please.

The American Egg Board has revived its “Incredible Edible Egg” campaign—at the same time that The Humane Society of the United States is spearheading a nationwide movement away from some of the egg industry’s animal abuse.

Numerous companies, schools, and even local governments are opposing the cruel confinement of egg-laying hens in small, wire “battery cages” on factory farms. These operations confine birds in cages so tiny that they cannot even walk or spread their wings.

“Most ‘Incredible Edible Eggs’ still come from birds in incredibly cruel cages,” commented Paul Shapiro, senior director of The HSUS’ factory farming campaign. “But fortunately there’s now a snowballing movement away from some of the industry’s most incredible cruelty, and we call on the American Egg Board to help move the industry away from battery cage confinement.”

Wolfgang Puck is ending the use of eggs from caged hens. Burger King is starting to move away from cage eggs. Grocery chains such as Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplace have stopped selling cage eggs. Major food service companies such as Bon Appétit are ending their use of cage eggs. More than 150 colleges and universities have implemented cage-free egg policies.

  Facts

--U.S. factory farms confine about 280 million hens in barren battery cages that are so small, the birds can’t even spread their wings. Each bird has less space than a single sheet of paper on which to live. The European Union has banned barren battery cages, effective 2012.
--Cage-free hens generally have 250-300 percent more space per bird and are able to engage in more of their natural behaviors than are caged hens. While cage free hens may not be able to go outside, they are able to walk, spread their wings, and lay their eggs in nests—all behaviors permanently denied to hens confined in battery cages.

Timeline

--August 2007—The HSUS begins to publicly call on Wendy’s to stop lagging behind Burger King and move away from the use of eggs from caged hens.
--March 2007—Burger King announces that it has started phasing in the use of cage-free eggs.
--March 2007—Wolfgang Puck announces the implementation of a wide-ranging program to improve animal welfare in his supply chain, including not using battery cage eggs.
--March 2007—Congressmembers Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) introduce the Farm Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act, which requires animal producers supplying federal programs with meat, dairy, and eggs to comply with a moderate set of animal welfare standards.
--September 2006— Ben & Jerry’s announces that it will phase out the use of eggs from caged hens in all its ice creams.
--May 2006—Google implements an exclusively cage-free egg policy for its employee dining facilities.
--May 2005—Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplace announce that they have ended sales of eggs from caged hens.
--November 2003—The Better Business Bureau rules that it is misleading to label eggs from battery-caged hens as “Animal Care Certified.”