Harvard Students Demand Cage-Free Eggs in Dining Halls

by Annie Hartnett · 2011-05-19 11:38:00 UTC
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No one ever said Harvard students were bird brains.

For years, Harvard students have campaigned for cage-free eggs in the dining halls. And this year the campaign has really taken flight: volunteers gathered over 7,000 signatures on a petition for cage-free eggs by going door-to-door on campus.

Back in 2007, Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) agreed to substitute some eggs from battery-cage farms with cage-free eggs. Unfortunately, the dining halls continue to use battery-cage eggs for recipes and for the liquid eggs used in making omelets and scrambled eggs. And, despite the recent student lobbying, HUDS has elected to keep serving up approximately 650,000 caged-eggs a year.

Last month,  HUDS posted on their blog that they will maintain the "current policy of purchasing eggs from responsible, USDA-approved egg farmers, offering cage free options in our dining halls for students who feel strongly about this issue." HUDS cited several reasons for this decision, one being that hens on cage-free farms "have parallel concerns to those of caged birds (i.e., space, de-beaking, bird-on-bird aggression)."

While that's a great argument for not eating eggs at all, it doesn't excuse the university for serving eggs from hens in battery cages. Cage-free hens do have more space than battery-caged hens, and if consumers choose products that treat animals even marginally better, it will push the food industry towards adopting more humane policies.

Besides improving the lives of hens, cage-free eggs are safer for human consumption. In the last five years, there have been thirteen scientific studies conducted to study the rates of Salmonella — all of the studies found that eggs from caged hens had significantly higher rates of Salmonella.

It's unfortunate that Harvard University has yet to listen to their intelligent and compassionate students, but if nothing else will convince the Crimson: Yale has already gone cage-free.

Sign the petition to ask Harvard University to commit to cage-free dining halls.

Photo Credit: westm

Annie Hartnett is a writer and animal advocate who has worked for several wildlife rehabilitation centers and environmental programs.

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Harvard University: Go Cage-Free!
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