Compassion Begins at the Grocery Store

You may be surprised to learn that unless the eggs you buy are labelled “Free Run”, “Free Range”, or “Certified Organic” you are unwittingly supporting cruelty to animals.

Canada’s egg industry is predicated on intensive confinement – the extreme confinement of animals to the point of virtual immobilization – in the name of efficiency. Ninety-eight percent of Canada’s 26-million laying hens are confined in battery cages. These small wire cages hold four or more birds each, and give each hen less space than a standard piece of paper. The birds cannot even fully extend their wings.

In battery cages, every natural instinct of the hen is thwarted, leading to a range of behavioural vices that include pecking out her own feathers and cannibalizing her cage mates. This is no life for any animal.

After enduring this misery for a year or more, the hen’s productivity wanes and she is considered “spent”, at which point she is often bald from feather-pecking and the constant grinding of her body against the sides of the cage and other birds.

Battery cages are considered so cruel the European Union is banning them beginning next year. Today, more and more passionate consumers are saying ‘no’ to such cruelty and choosing more humane options.

Manitoba is leading the country when it comes to installing furnished cages for laying hens. By year end, over 42,000 laying hens will be housed in furnished/ enriched cages which offer the hens more space to move about, and furnishings that enable hens to express their natural behaviours like perching, scratching and laying their eggs in a private nesting area. Enriched cages meet the basics of the Five Freedoms, which are welfare guidelines respected by veterinarians, welfare researchers and poultry specialists all over the world.

For those who wish to purchase humane eggs from unconfined hens, free-run, free-range and certified organic eggs all come from hens not kept in cages.

Free-run eggs come from hens who, like conventionally housed hens, are kept indoors, but not in cages. The hens run free indoors and lay their eggs in fabricated nests. Free-run eggs are the most widely available cage-free eggs in Manitoba.

Free-range eggs likewise come from uncaged hens, but these hens have access to the outdoors and sunshine for some portion of the day.

Certified organic eggs are your best assurance of cage-free egg production. Not only are the hens not caged, but all certified organic egg farms are subject to independent third-party inspection that ensures no cages were used in production. (All certified organic standards across Canada prohibit caging in egg production.) Caveat to consumers: the word ‘organic’ alone on the label without ‘certified’ is no assurance of cage-free production as they do not necessarily conform to certified organic standards, nor are the operations in question subject to independent inspection.

Nowadays, it’s easy for egg consumers to make more humane choices at the grocery store. Check out our list of grocery outlets in Winnipeg that offer free-run, free range and certified organic eggs. If your grocery store does not offer cage-free eggs, talk to the store manager… or switch stores! If they
could, the hens would thank you!

Purchase Humane Eggs

You can find humanely raised eggs at many smaller grocers throughout Winnipeg, and even at some Safeway and Superstore locations. Here is a list of several locations but there are many more scattered throughout the city:

Crampton’s Market,
1765 Waverley St.

Eatit.ca,
603 Wall Street

Fresh Option
Organic Delivery,
1338 Clifton St.

Vita Health Stores,
www.vitahealthstores.ca

Frigs Natural
Meats & More,
3515 Main St.

Organza Market,
230 Osborne St.

La Grotta
Mediterranean Market,
1360 Taylor Ave.

Foodfare,
905 Portage Ave.
(one of many locations)

Also, watch for Vita Eggs,
Manitoba grown, free-run
eggs sold at many
Winnipeg locations.