An undercover video from the animal welfare group Animal Recovery Mission captured abusive conditions on a Florida egg farm. The farm, Lake Wales, is owned by Cal-Maine Foods, the country’s largest egg producer. The animal welfare group reported that it uncovered the use of battery cages, close confinement of hens, and unsanitary conditions on the farm.
Cal-Maine is a publicly traded company, and it estimates that it produces about 20 percent of all the eggs consumed in the United States. The company sells eggs under the Egg-Land’s Best, Land O’ Lakes, Farmhouse, and 4-Grain brands. It has grown in recent years by buying up its competitors; the company completed 18 acquisitions between 1989 and 2013.
Undercover investigations of this type are increasingly being targeted by state legislation, dubbed “ag gag” laws, that intend to criminalize possessing or capturing photographs or videos of the conditions on farms. The spread of these laws from state to state has concerned First Amendment advocates, and a diverse coalition of animal welfare, civil liberties, and media organizations are working to overturn existing ag gag laws.
The industrial egg industry has been under pressure to reform its growing practices, as major buyers like Walmart and McDonald’s commit to sourcing cage-free eggs.