UEP: Egg producers must form own definition of cage-free

It’s time for egg farmers to get more involved in setting the agenda surrounding cage-free, especially defining what a cage-free system looks like.

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| Austin Alonzo
| Austin Alonzo

It’s time for egg farmers to get more involved in setting the agenda surrounding cage-free eggs, especially defining what a cage-free system looks like, said Chad Gregory, president and CEO of the United Egg Producers (UEP).

Gregory told a group of producers and representatives of allied industries that farmers need to stop being reactive toward cage-free and go on the offensive. Gregory spoke at the UEP's August 23 Area 3 meeting, representing the Midwest region, in Des Moines, Iowa.

In a relatively short amount of time, cage-free eggs seized the attention of U.S. egg producers and retailers. The UEP estimates 190.4 million birds – or about 66 percent of the current national flock – will be needed to fulfill the anticipated demand for cage-free eggs by 2025. As of July, the size of the cage-free layer flock was 16.6 million birds. The pace of the transition is creating chaos in the egg industry which will only increase as the pledges mature.

Chad Gregory, CEO United Egg Producers

Chad Gregory, president and CEO of United Egg Producers, said the group must take the lead on defining cage-free as part of taking a more offensive posture toward the movement. | Austin Alonzo.

Activists shouldn't define cage-free systems

Gregory said the movement toward cage-free eggs isn’t being driven by the consumers – consumers aren’t buying the more expensive cage-free eggs on grocery store shelves, he said – or the restaurants and retailers, it’s activist groups like the Humane Society of the United States and the Humane League. The groups, with a major victory under their belt, can now pivot to defining what cage-free means and imposing standards that would be even more disruptive to animal agriculture.

The UEP is working to define what cage-free production should look like and will have a more definitive answer by its October Annual Board Meeting and Executive Conference. The UEP is calling upon its members and industry experts to do this to prevent activists groups from defining what cage-free should look like.

The lack of national standards on cage-free housing and production is adding to the confusion and providing ample opportunity for activists to create their own certification programs. The UEP has a cage-free certification program in place and will likely revise its standards by the October 17-20 meetings.

Past and present egg-related legislation

Gregory said he’s been asked why the UEP hasn’t done more about the issue in the past. He said the organization has maintained an animal welfare committee since 1982 and mounted a major, $10 million offensive against California’s Proposition 2. Two-thirds of California voters approved the proposition banning battery cages. Similar laws are now in effect in Michigan, Arizona, Ohio, Oregon and Wisconsin.

In November, Massachusetts voters will likely mandate all eggs sold in the state must be cage-free. The UEP is not fighting against that proposal, he said.

The UEP also called for a national egg bill that would have established a timeline for an orderly transition to enriched colony housing, but the effort failed in early 2013 because it was not supported by the beef and pork industries or the Farm Bureau. Gregory said some egg producers didn’t agree with an effort to create a national law because they believe the free market, not the government, should define the business.

“They would make comments like, ‘Let’s just let the marketplace sort things out, the marketplace always sorts stuff out, let’s just do that,’” Gregory said. “Well guess what, the market place is sorting it out because we’ve left this void and the activists have filled that hole.”

Gregory said the bill failed, but he respects the UEP’s board members for taking a leap of faith and making a bold move to try and pass it.

“They knew, the 34 board members and those of you who are in the room right now, you knew this chaos was going to happen, you knew that if we didn’t have an egg bill or a law like this that what we are experiencing right now was going to play out, and here we are.”

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