The debate over Proposition 2 begins and ends with the question of whether it's humane for California's egg-laying hens to be forced to live their lives in cages so small that they are virtually immobile — unable to spread their wings, perch or walk around.
The answer should be obvious. Vote yes Nov. 4 to end this callous practice.
Stopping the confinement of millions of hens to cages equal to the size of a sheet of letter-size paper isn't the only reason to support Proposition 2. Some egg ranchers create their own perverse pecking order by stacking the cages on top of one another. The hens on the bottom levels spend their lives spattered by the droppings from the hens above. No creature should have to endure that treatment.
That's why Proposition 2 has the support of such respected organizations as the Humane Society, the California Veterinarians Association, the Center for Food Safety, and California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.
We'd prefer that the Legislature settle such issues. But the agribusiness community has worked to prevent that from happening. A 2007 bill with similar language — Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally's AB 594 — couldn't get out of the ag committee.
Proposition 2 also would require owners to allow their pigs and veal calves room to turn around in pens or crates. But the pig and veal industries are relatively small in California, so the real fight is over how chickens should be treated.
Opponents contend that squeezing hens into cages promotes food safety, because it's harder to separate eggs from free-range birds from feces and other fluids. But an analysis by the respected Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production refutes that argument.
Egg ranchers also argue that Proposition 2 will greatly increase the price of eggs in California and probably put them out of business, since the cost of converting to a new system would prove to be too expensive.
But egg ranchers would have until 2015 to convert to the new system, which should give them ample time to adapt to new practices. By that time, American consumers will probably be demanding that all of their eggs come from cage-free hens, which could give California an edge over its competition.
Furthermore, a study by the University of California-Riverside puts the likely difference of the price of eggs from caged hens and cage-free hens at one cent.
Opponents' final argument is that confining hens to cages is actually safer for the birds, which often attack each other to establish their pecking order. Anyone who has spent time on a ranch knows how cruel Mother Nature can be. But that doesn't mean humans have to be, too. Vote yes on Proposition 2.