San Francisco Becomes Fourth California City to Oppose One of Factory Farming's Worst Abuses

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has signed a unanimously-passed Board of Supervisors resolution opposing one of the most notorious factory farming abuses: cramming egg-laying hens into tiny battery cages where they can barely move. 

The resolution was introduced by San Francisco Board of Supervisors president Aaron Peskin, and the Board of Supervisors passed the resolution on January 15th. It condemns the confinement of laying hens in battery cages as "cruel and inhumane," and "encourages consumers of eggs not to purchase eggs produced by caged hens."

San Francisco is the fourth California city (and tenth in the nation) to pass a resolution on battery cage confinement, joining Santa Cruz, Berkeley and West Hollywood.

"The San Francisco Board of Supervisors should be applauded for objecting to one of the cruelest forms of mistreatment of animals on factory farms," comments Paul Shapiro, senior director of The Humane Society of the United States' factory farming campaign. "The egg industry should listen to the demands of the public and end its abusive practice of confining hens in battery cages."

Thousands of California citizens are now volunteering their time to collect signatures to put a measure on the November 2008 ballot that would require that egg-laying hens, calves used for veal, and pigs used for breeding be given enough room to turn around and extend their limbs. 650,000 signatures will be turned in to qualify the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act for the ballot.

Facts

• California factory farms confine approximately 19 million hens in barren battery cages that are so small, the birds can't even spread their wings. Each bird has less space than a single sheet of paper on which to live.
• California companies and universities—including Burger King, Ben & Jerry's, Wolfgang Puck, Google, Bon Appetit Management Company, Stanford, San Francisco State University, and University of California-Berkeley—are moving away from using foods from animals confined in crates and cages. Retailers such as Rainbow Foods and Andronico's have stopped selling eggs from caged hens.
• While cage-free does not mean cruelty-free, cage-free hens generally have 250-300 percent more space per bird and are able to engage in more of their natural behaviors than are caged hens. Cage-free hens may not be able to go outside, but they are able to walk, spread their wings, and lay their eggs in nests—all behaviors permanently denied to hens confined in battery cages.

Timeline

• December 2007—The world's largest food service provider, Compass Group, begins switching to cage-free eggs.
• October 2007—Californians begin collecting signatures to put the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act on the 2008 ballot.
• March 2007—Wolfgang Puck announces that he is ending his use of cage eggs, and Burger King begins phasing in the use of cage-free eggs.
• November 2003—The Better Business Bureau rules that it is misleading to label eggs from battery-caged hens as "Animal Care Certified."
• 2000-2002—McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's require that their meat and egg suppliers abide by very modest animal welfare standards.

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