What people think “cage-free” means is vastly different from reality... We must not ingrain cruelty by passing a regressive law that will keep hens in abhorrent conditions.
TRACY REIMAN: ‘PETA has always supported changes that reduce suffering for farmed animals. It was PETA’s campaign in 1995 that brought the first acknowledgment of cruelty to chickens by a major restaurant chain when McDonald’s implemented some minimal animal welfare standards. Twenty-three years and an ocean of public awareness later, the standards pushed by Proposition 12 are a step backwards at a time when there is impetus for real change. We truly cannot understand why some groups set the bar so terribly low. This initiative ensures hens will continue to suffer far into the future. It will allow tens of thousands of hens to be crammed into giant warehouses with only 1 square foot of space per bird, the same amount that the farming industry already requires for “cage-free” labeling.
Proposition 12 also does something insidious: It misleads kind consumers into thinking that it’s “humane” to purchase eggs. PETA investigations have revealed time and again that what people think “cage-free” means is vastly different from reality… We must not ingrain cruelty by passing a regressive law that will keep hens in abhorrent conditions. We know that chickens are thinking, feeling beings that want to truly spread their wings, not be confined to a prison with thousands of others. Hens deserve better. Vote “no” on Proposition 12. Go egg-free, not cage-free’. SOURCE…