Happy Cage-Free Eggs: Just What I Was Afraid Of

You may be tired of reading about the Proposition 2 campaign and the Oprah program on farming practices and Prop 2, especially now that the measure has passed. I'm tired of writing about it too. I'm tired of being angry about it. But I've lost count of how many times since the Oprah show--and subsequently, since the passage of Prop 2--that I've read or heard someone say that the campaign and Oprah show did exactly what so many of us feared they would do: they made people feel better about eating products that still involve great suffering; the chosen strategy for passing Prop 2 gave the public an utterly false idea of what "cage-free" and "free-range" mean and guaranteed that these people will continue funding cruelty rather than remove themselves from it, as perhaps they would have done if presented with the actual truth.

What exactly managed to get me all riled up again this morning? The following remarks from a blog post/article last Friday on Proposition 2, remarks that are representative of what I've been seeing elsewhere for the last several weeks (emphasis mine):

By January of 2015, California farms are obligated to provide enough space for animals to stand up, turn around and extend their limbs. For animals, this means they no longer have to live and suffer in miserable conditions. . . .

"I am really happy it passed. I saw Oprah's show about Prop 2. I had heard about farm cruelty but to witness it on this show was eye-opening," Dempsey said. "Seeing cage-free hens on an organic farm and then the farm with hens stuffed in cages where they could barely move, was enough for me. I now only purchase eggs that are cage-free."

ARRRrrrggh! Yes, this is enough to make me scream. I'll say it again: despite the deceptive tagline for the Prop 2 campaign, implementation of Prop 2 in 2015 will not end, stop, or prevent cruelty; the animals absolutely will continue to suffer.

And what can you do now to alleviate suffering, to stop your contribution to it? Purchasing "cage-free" eggs is not the answer. Ending your purchase and consumption of eggs--and other animal products--is. Clearly, others and I were right to be upset by what the Oprah program showed as representative of cage-free and free-range facilities. As expected--as is natural--viewers thought they were seeing the kind of place their eggs and flesh will come from once they make the switch. Oprah, Pacelle, and the guests didn't tell them anything different, and Oprah, Pacelle, and the guests didn't mention any of the myriad cruelties still involved in all egg production and other animal agriculture, so how can the viewers be blamed for believing what they were told or led to believe? After all, this was the Humane Society of the United States essentially telling them that cage-free or free-range eggs and flesh are cruelty-free, and surely they can trust the endorsement of the HSUS, right? Right?

In "Beyond Prop 2: Continuing the Conversation," I wrote, "HSUS is better positioned than any of the rest of us to continue the mainstream conversation it has started and to reveal all the truths about animal agriculture and animal suffering. But will it do it?" So far, the answer is no. Prop 2 passed. The momentum is fading quickly. And so far, the only further discussions I've seen or heard revolve around self-congratulations and the hope that similar initiatives will be passed in other states. May the animals forgive us.

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Please see HumaneMyth.org.

Read all the Proposition 2 posts on this blog here. Photo of traumatized "free-range" laying hens courtesy of the Peaceful Prairie blog.