Bill requires all eggs sold in California to be from cage-fee hens
California voters freed the state’s egg-laying hens last fall, but Proposition 2 left a big loophole: Supermarkets could still sell eggs laid by caged birds in other states.
Now, animal-welfare advocates are backing legislation requiring every egg sold in California to be from a cage-free hen.
Assembly Bill 1437 would greatly expand the scope of the state’s ban on standard egg-laying cages, which is scheduled to take effect in 2015.
Economists predict Proposition 2, on its own, will drive up imports of cheap, conventionally produced eggs, pushing many in-state farms out of business.
If AB 1437 passes, though, it would make the entire California market – about 10 percent of the nation’s eggs – cage-free. That huge demand, backers hope, would support California farms as they convert to cage-free production and drive some big egg farms elsewhere in the country to scrap their cages as well.
California now buys about a third of its eggs from other states.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com …
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