Students demanded it, and now West Chester’s Office of Student Affairs are making the switch to cage-free eggs in the University’s dining facilities starting fall of 2010. Thanks to over 1,500 WCU students and faculty, as well as the 300 submitted letters received by the administration, West Chester University is saying “no” to battery cage cruelty and is taking a giant step in reducing the number of suffering egg-laying hens every day.
This change will also help reduce the water and air pollution caused by factory farms.
Nearly 280 million laying hens in the United States are confined in wired cages. On average, each caged laying hen is offered only 67 square inches of cage space.
Aside from the discomfort that these hens endure, they do not have the opportunity for natural behaviors: nesting, perching, dust bathing – all which are important to the welfare of the hen.
Cage-free hens lead a much better life than those trapped in battery cages. With the ability to spread their wings and roam free, they can lay their eggs in nests; simple tasks that should not be underestimated.
Dr. Michael Appleby, one of the world’s leading poultry welfare experts, writes:
“Battery cages present inherent animal welfare problems, most notably by their small size and barren conditions. Hens are unable to engage in many of their natural behaviors and endure high levels of stress and frustration.
“Cage-free egg production, while not perfect, does not entail such inherent animal welfare disadvantages and is a very good step in the right direction for the egg industry.”
Americans are beginning to learn how their food is being raised. Amidst all the noise, the voice against animal cruelty is finally being heard.
In a worldwide attempt to put a stop to this, California successfully passed a law prohibiting the confinement of farm animals in 2008. They now join 27 other countries in this ongoing quest against animal cruelty.
West Chester University can now happily say they are a part of this fight.
The New York Times ran an editorial on this issue asking readers to “imagine being confined in the voting booth for life. Would you vote for the right to be able to sit down and turn around and raise your arms?”
Over the past few months, several other local schools have made the change, including the University of Pennsylvania, Immaculata University and the entire Philadelpha Catholic School System.
These schools as well as West Chester join many other Aramark-run schools across the country in the fight against this issue.
It is not only schools that are making a change, major corporations such as Burger King, Denny’s, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s are beginning to take the stand against animal cruelty.
The world’s largest food store provider, Compass Group, is getting rid of caged-eggs, as well as Ben and Jerry’s. Companies such as AOL and Google use only cage-free eggs in their employee cafeterias.
Cage-free eggs are available in the WCU campus store. For those in the public wishing to take their stand on the issue, the Humane Society offers various options to avoid battery eggs.
To learn more about this, visit their website at www.hsus.org.
Jennifer Neary is a West Chester student. She can be reached at JN615188@wcupa.edu.