Chick culling can be avoided by using in-ovo sexing, which is fully used in Germany and France. Other countries are going in that direction too. Do you have more in your etc? Humane eggs are my main source of animal protein, so I am genuinely interested in knowing the consequences.
Yeah, it seems like EU countries are starting to do so, and some fully as you note, but it is not really in practice at all in the US or Asia, and could take a while until, if ever, it is fully implemented.
“Humane eggs” (using parentheses because it is debatable to what extent such a thing exists) still have a range of issues.
In the US, if you buy cage-free eggs, the chickens likely still live a life not worth living. “Even in cage-free facilities, hens may still spend a majority of their lives in dark, windowless sheds—a far cry from the wooded areas that chickens prefer to live in. Artificial lighting manipulates the hens’ laying cycle, as do farming practices like forced molting, which starves hens in order to force their bodies to produce more eggs.” (From THL Article). Not too much is different for free-range birds. Moreover, in tight quarters for cage-free or free-range, new welfare issues are presented, like feather pecking, bone fractures, infections, etc. The bio-risk issues don’t go away either.
Once you get to pasture raised, which definitely seems like a bump in welfare for the birds, you start to run into more environmental footprint per egg and a scaling issue. And these birds are still genetically optimized for non-natural production, which leads to various issues for them. Even at pasture-raised, bio-risks are still there, and could spread easily to wild birds.
Hope this is helpful, and I appreciate your curiosity!
right, beef does not produce as much animal suffering, but it is terrible for the environment in terms of emissions and water needed. I saw recently the figure of 660 gallons of water to produce one hamburger (from https://andymasley.substack.com/p/a-cheat-sheet-for-conversations-about).
Chick culling can be avoided by using in-ovo sexing, which is fully used in Germany and France. Other countries are going in that direction too. Do you have more in your etc? Humane eggs are my main source of animal protein, so I am genuinely interested in knowing the consequences.
Yeah, it seems like EU countries are starting to do so, and some fully as you note, but it is not really in practice at all in the US or Asia, and could take a while until, if ever, it is fully implemented.
“Humane eggs” (using parentheses because it is debatable to what extent such a thing exists) still have a range of issues.
In the US, if you buy cage-free eggs, the chickens likely still live a life not worth living.
“Even in cage-free facilities, hens may still spend a majority of their lives in dark, windowless sheds—a far cry from the wooded areas that chickens prefer to live in. Artificial lighting manipulates the hens’ laying cycle, as do farming practices like forced molting, which starves hens in order to force their bodies to produce more eggs.” (From THL Article). Not too much is different for free-range birds. Moreover, in tight quarters for cage-free or free-range, new welfare issues are presented, like feather pecking, bone fractures, infections, etc. The bio-risk issues don’t go away either.
Once you get to pasture raised, which definitely seems like a bump in welfare for the birds, you start to run into more environmental footprint per egg and a scaling issue. And these birds are still genetically optimized for non-natural production, which leads to various issues for them. Even at pasture-raised, bio-risks are still there, and could spread easily to wild birds.
Hope this is helpful, and I appreciate your curiosity!