Editor: I find it very disturbing that we have a labelling of eggs which is allowed by the United Egg Producers and is sanctioned with "Animal Care Certified" label. All this while hens are still subjected to forced molting, debeaking and smothering at landfills and rendering plants.
The only "improvement" in their lot is the meagre increase of 19 square inches in each bird's living space, up to 48 square inches.
I would like to address just one of the above mentioned travesties, the one that bears most directly on public safety.
Research has shown that flocks subjected to forced molting produce eggs with significantly higher levels of "salmonella enteritidis." According to the USDA research immunologist Peter Holt, the practice depresses the immune response and exacerbates the severity of any existing infection. In other words, the starved hens weakened condition makes them an easy target for the bacteria.
People who eat salmonella -- tainted eggs -- develop flu-like symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and in numerous cases, dehydration, convulsions and prostration.
According to the Center for Disease Control, salmonella is among the top ten most deadly infections, yet it was virtually nonexistent prior to the 1980s. The CDC has reported that between 1985 and 1998, more than 75 percent of salmonella cases were linked to eggs. One of the causes cited in the CDC report was forced molting.
"Animal Care Certified," an empty phrase, cynically implies that birds are well treated and healthy. Consumers who try to purchase only humanely produced safe products are confused by this label.
It is fraudulent and must not be used until laying hens are able to peck the ground and stretch their wings instead of being crammed in wire mesh drawers.