it’s total on-farm deaths that matter more to me than the rates, so just increasing the prices enough could reduce demand enough to reduce those deaths.
If cage-free hens are less productive, then there might still be more total deaths in cage-free despite higher prices?
I don’t have a copy of the book to check, but I thinkCompassion, by the Pound says that cage-free hens lay fewer eggs.
A 2006 study gives some specific numbers, although this is for free-range rather than cage-free:
Layers from the free range system, compared to those kept in cages, laid fewer eggs, (266:295), [...] they had higher mortality rate (6.80 % : 5.50 %)
These sources are 1-2 decades old, so maybe things have changed since then, though probably the trend of cage-free hens being somewhat less productive remains true.
If cage-free hens are less productive, then there might still be more total deaths in cage-free despite higher prices?
I don’t have a copy of the book to check, but I think Compassion, by the Pound says that cage-free hens lay fewer eggs.
A 2006 study gives some specific numbers, although this is for free-range rather than cage-free:
These sources are 1-2 decades old, so maybe things have changed since then, though probably the trend of cage-free hens being somewhat less productive remains true.