Dozens of food companies have pledged to switch to cage-free eggs over the next few years, including Walmart, the largest U.S. grocery retailer. “Animal-welfare activists say the announcements are a step in the right direction,” says the San Francisco Chronicle in a story that looks at welfare standards in California and elsewhere. “The short answer is that the term ‘cage-free’ means the birds were not raised in battery cages. But it does not mean they are not kept in enclosures. And it also doesn’t ensure that the chickens have access to the outdoors. Cage-free birds just have more space — relatively speaking.”
Battery cages are the most widely used production format at present and keep poultry in separate enclosures, each allowing about as much floor space as a sheet of typing paper, or around 90 square inches. When producers switch to group enclosures, chickens get 144 to 216 square inches apiece, enough to spread their wings. California’s Proposition 2, adopted by referendum in 2008, says chickens must have room to flap their wings or extend their limbs.
About 10 percent of U.S. egg production is currently cage-free. “Companies that go through billions of eggs a year argue they need time to secure the supply they need,” said the Chronicle. Prop 2 allowed six years for California egg farmers to convert their farms to the new standards.