New law sends egg prices soaring

California’s 2008 Proposition 2 finally went into effect at the start of the year, requiring chicken farms and ranches to create more humane space for chickens to produce their eggs. The enactment of the law was a long-sought victory for animal rights activists, though egg ranchers are preparing to file suit in court, claiming that the new law will put them out of business.

“Mercy For Animals commends California voters for helping end some of the cruelest forms of institutionalized animal abuse in existence,” said Matt Rice of the Los Angeles-based animal rights organization Mercy For Animals. “In 2008, California voters passed Prop. 2 by a nearly 64 percent majority, granting farmed animals at least enough space to stand up, turn around, stretch their limbs, and engage in other basic natural behaviors.”

Proposition 2 was passed by voters in a landslide win, six years ago. The new rules required chickens to be caged in facilities that allowed them to move around and spread their wings, and encouraged farms to let their chickens roam freely in pens.

But the law has been litigated in court as farmers and ranchers with the Association of California Egg Farmers and the California Farm Bureau have battled to keep Proposition 2 from being enacted. Those efforts were unsuccessful and the law was put into effect on Jan. 1.

“Six years was a reasonable amount of time” for egg producers to come into compliance with Prop 2,” said Rice. “In the buildup to California’s new farm animal protection law, major food distributors like Aramark, Sodexo, and Compass Group moved to 100 percent cage-free shell eggs in their California operations. Currently, companies like Nestlé, Burger King, Unilever, and Starbucks are switching to cage-free eggs for all of their locations and products nationwide, not just in California.”

Jamie Downing, Petaluma Market’s general manager, said the price of eggs has gone up since the start of the year, but he’s received no negative feedback as a result of the new regulations.

“Even before the new rules, the trend was heading towards eggs from cage-free chickens,” said Downing. “The average price for eggs has gone up about 30 to 50 cents a dozen, but we haven’t had any complaints. Nobody from local farmers, to our wholesalers to the general public has given us any negative feedback concerning the new law.”

Nathan Runkle, president of Mercy for Animals, said that with the enactment of Prop 2, California was “leading the way toward a society in which farmed animals are treated with the respect they so rightly deserve.”

“As a civilized nation, it is our moral obligation to protect all animals, including animals raised and killed for food, from needless suffering. It’s time for egg producers nationwide to end the cruel and inhumane confinement of hens in wire cages so small they cannot walk, spread their wings, or engage in most natural behaviors.”

But local egg rancher Arnie Riebli, of Sunrise Farms, said the perception of cruelty by ranchers toward chickens and other animals was not true.

“I can’t say a lot about this because our lawyers have told us to keep quiet while we battle this thing out in court. But the one thing I can tell you is the average farmer feels his job is to protect the environment and our livestock. That’s how we make our living and it’s ridiculous to think we would want to hurt that,” said Riebli.

During the 2008 debate over Proposition 2, the San Francisco-based Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture interviewed Petaluma Farms owner Steve Mahrt. Mahrt was not happy about the prospect of the proposition becoming law and said he thought if the law was enacted it would put him out of business.

“I don’t know what ‘happy’ means to a chicken,” said Mahrt.

Enactment of Proposition 2 has not stopped animal rights activists from investigating whether farms are complying with the law. Mahrt’s farm was broken into by the Berkeley-based animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere.

They produced a video of conditions at the farm, that depicted chickens missing feathers, and their bodies covered in blisters and excrement. Mahrt issued a statement saying the video did not reflect conditions at their farm.

Mercy for Animals called for a nationwide ban on eggs produced from chickens in cages.

“To help alleviate the suffering of approximately 300 million egg-laying hens nationwide, Mercy For Animals is now calling on United Egg Producers - the industry trade group representing nearly 90 percent of U.S. egg producers - to require its members to comply with UEP cage-free guidelines,” said Rice.

(Contact E.A. Barrera at ernesto.barrera@arguscou rier.com)