“How much do increased egg costs and the resulting reduced egg demand mitigate the potential harms of cage-free transitions? Could the reduction in number outweigh any potential increases in harms on average per hen?” — this is an important point. I’ve always seen part of the point of win-lose welfare reforms (unlike win-wins like FWI’s work) as increasing the price, thereby decreasing demand and increasing the competitiveness of substitutes. In a similar vein, I wonder how much potential increased mortality increases cost and therefore demand and how the reduction in demand nets out against the increased number of chicken-days are needed per egg because of mortality
“How much do increased egg costs and the resulting reduced egg demand mitigate the potential harms of cage-free transitions? Could the reduction in number outweigh any potential increases in harms on average per hen?” — this is an important point. I’ve always seen part of the point of win-lose welfare reforms (unlike win-wins like FWI’s work) as increasing the price, thereby decreasing demand and increasing the competitiveness of substitutes. In a similar vein, I wonder how much potential increased mortality increases cost and therefore demand and how the reduction in demand nets out against the increased number of chicken-days are needed per egg because of mortality