PETA Global 2018 Issue 2

PETA Exposé Shows Why Not to Buy the ‘Free-Range’ Lie

Egg: © iStock.com/Dmytro Lastovych • Egg carton: © iStock.com/SuchatSi

W hat comes to mind when you see “free range” on a carton of eggs? The industry wants us to picture happy hens roaming the verdant countryside. In truth, the “happy” hen advertised is anything but. “Free-range” and “humane” are nothing but marketing ploys designed to fool consumers.

In contrast to Nellie’s claim, the facility that PETA visited had no “easy access to the outdoors.” If the hens could actually fight their way to one of the small openings in the wall and the hatch door wasn’t closed, which it often was, there was only a narrow strip of earth and some sparse blades of grass. Nor could they “roam where they please.” The eggs, consumers are told, come from “happy hens.” Tell that to the birds at Nellie’s Pennsylvania supplier, which is “certified humane” but keeps them tightly confined. Hens typically live for up to 10 years, but a Nellie’s employee stated that the birds are slaughtered when they’re barely 1 year old. After producing an egg a day, their bodies become so depleted of calcium that their eggs cease to be marketable. How’s that for “happy”? Nellie’s also uses birds from hatcheries where females have the tips of their sensitive beaks burned or cut off, and male chicks, considered “useless” by egg farmers, are killed. Typical killing methods in hatcheries include suffocation or maceration – throwing day-old chicks into grinding machines while they’re still alive. This kind of abuse is typical across the industry. PETA UK’s exposé of a British “free-range” egg farm found that many hens never saw the light of day until they were sent to slaughter. Competition for food was so fierce that hens even resorted to cannibalism, pecking at the rotting corpses of their flockmates who hadn’t survived.

James Cromwell and PETA Score Big With Super Bowl Ad It’s dark humor that hits the mark. In an online PETA Super Bowl ad titled “Redemption,” Babe star James Cromwell plays a priest who hears a meat marketer’s confession and plea for absolution for coining the deceitful term “humane meat.” But “Father” James isn’t moved. “There’s no forgiving you,” he intones. “We have to draw the line somewhere.” Animals on “humane” farms still endure debeaking and castration without painkillers, live crammed inside fetid warehouses and on barren feedlots, and are shipped to slaughter in all weather extremes. The ad, which can be viewed at PETA.org/Redemption , has earned roaring applause – don’t miss it!

Inside Nellie’s Eggs A PETA eyewitness visited one of its supplier’s farms in Pennsylvania where tens of thousands of hens were crowded into two 535-foot-long sheds. They had so little space – just over a square foot each – that it was difficult for visitors to avoid stepping on them. Chickens are loving, social, inquisitive beings who like to spend their days foraging, sunning themselves, and roosting. But the cramped conditions in sheds like these prevent them from engaging in any natural activity. They can barely stretch their wings properly. Many are missing feathers because of stress, malnutrition, or fighting.

Take Action Now Please share the video at PETA.org/FreeRangeFarce widely. Urge

everyone you know to ditch eggs in favor of VeganEgg, Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, or other compassionate options. Visit PETA.org/Living for tasty egg-free recipes.

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