Egg Recall Stirs Debate Over Caged Chicken Operations

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - A salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 1,500 people and lead to the recall of more than half a billion eggs is bringing more attention to the debate over concentrated animal feeding operations.

By the Environmental Protection Agency's definition, an animal feeding operation is an agricultural operation where animals are kept and raised in confined situations for at least 45 days out of a year. The number of animals is among factors that determine whether it is a concentrated animal feeding operation.

Opponents to such farming practices, labeled as "factory farms," allege that they contain too many animals to adequately handle issues such as how to handle the manure.

Complaints include manure running into nearby streams, for which ABC News reported that Wright County Egg owner Jack DeCoster was fined $150,000 by the Iowa attorney general in 2000.

Another issue is how the hens are housed. The Washington Post reported that the Iowa farms connected to the recalls keep hens in industrial-style "battery cages," in which birds are crammed against one another in wire enclosures. Animal welfare activists have called such practices inhumane and unsanitary.

The Humane Society of the United States claims that "cramming 100,000 birds or more under a single roof in tiny battery cages" creates a large amount of contaminated airborne fecal dust. The group alleges this dust can spread salmonella infection among the birds.

The Washington Post reported that the Humane Society led a push for new legislation in California that will eliminate the use of battery cages starting in 2015. Michigan has adopted cage limits that will take effect in 2019 and other states have approved less strict regulations.

While the controversy has spurred a call for more cage-free operations, not everyone agrees that is the best solution. Michael Lacy, head of the University of Georgia Department of Poultry Science, told CNN that he knows of no research showing large-scale egg farms are less safe than others.

"There is no scientific evidence that free-range or organic eggs are less prone to S. Enteritidis," he said, referring to the strain involved in the current outbreak.

Andy Schneider of Alpharetta, Ga., known as "the chicken whisperer," hosts a radio show in which he gives out advice on raising chickens. He also disagreed that free-range chickens are necessarily healthier.

"You need to realize, that just because they're in the backyard, they're not exempt from getting the same illnesses as commercial birds," he told CNN.

The Washington Post said that cage-free eggs typically cost about twice as much as those laid by caged hens. The egg industry claims that, if cage-free eggs were mass-produced, the average cost per dozen would still be about 25 percent higher.

United Egg Producers spokesman Mitch Head suggested eggs would be about 25 percent higher if cages were banned. He told the Post that would be about 25 cents more per dozen of Grade A eggs.

For more information about the egg recall is available at www.eggsafety.org or the Egg Safety Media Hotline: 404-367-2761.