3/25/19, 10:53 AMYes on Proposition 12. Let's get rid of cages for hens for real - Los Angeles Times

Page 1 of 8https://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-proposition12-20180928-story.html

ENDORSEMENT EDITORIALS OPINION

Yes on Proposition 12. Let's get rid of cagesfor hens for real

By THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD SEP 28, 2018 | 4:05 AM ! " #

Cage-free chickens walk in a fenced pasture on the Francis Blake organic

farm near Waukon, Iowa on Oct. 21, 2015. (Charlie Neibergall /

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3/25/19, 10:53 AMYes on Proposition 12. Let's get rid of cages for hens for real - Los Angeles Times

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Associated Press)

What constitutes the proper and ethical treatmentof animals has evolved substantially over the lastfew decades and, inevitably, will continue tochange as people better understand the animalsthat share our homes as pets, roam outdoors aswild creatures, or end up as food on our plates.

A decade ago, California residents votedoverwhelmingly to free the state’s millions of egg-laying hens from cages so tiny and cramped thatthe birds could not stand up, spread their wings orturn around. The measure they approved,Proposition 2, banned California farmers fromhousing their hens in so-called battery cages,starting in 2015. It also banned cramped crates forgestating pigs and veal calves (although there islittle veal or pork production here). The CaliforniaLegislature later passed a law mandating that out-of-state egg farmers comply with the samerequirements on any of their hens laying eggs forsale in this state.

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3/25/19, 10:53 AMYes on Proposition 12. Let's get rid of cages for hens for real - Los Angeles Times

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But the ballot measure specified only that hens begiven enough space to move around. As a result,most farmers simply refitted their barns withlarger colony cages. That was better than themiserable battery cages, but it was not what themeasure’s advocates expected nor what hens needfor the most humane treatment on a working farm.

Proposition 12, on the ballot thisNovember, requires that eggsbeing sold in California comefrom cage-free hens by thebeginning of 2022.

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Proposition 12, on the ballot this November,requires that eggs being sold in California comefrom cage-free hens by the beginning of 2022, andit details what that means. It also requires that allveal and pork products sold here come from calvesor breeding pigs (or their offspring) that were notconfined. This is a humane measure that will movefarmers toward better treatment of their animals,and voters should support it.

Dubbed the Prevention of Cruelty to Farm AnimalsAct, Proposition 12 is sponsored and financed bythe Humane Society of the United States, which

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3/25/19, 10:53 AMYes on Proposition 12. Let's get rid of cages for hens for real - Los Angeles Times

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also backed Proposition 2. In contrast to theearlier initiative, this measure specifies how muchbarn floor space a hen should get and the types ofcage-free layouts that are acceptable. The measurealso requires that hens have nest boxes andperches for flying to and from.

These are not luxury amenities for hens. Instead,the rationale is that the extra space and otherfeatures are important to hens’ health. Forexample, the United Egg Producers’ guidelinesnote that perches allow hens living in large flocks arefuge from other birds and help calm them.

The proposition’s provisions for hens are based onthe requirements that the United Egg Producers, atrade association for egg farmers, sets for farmerswho want the association’s certification as cage-free operations. They’re also close to the ones forhens set by the nonprofit Humane Farm AnimalCare, which seeks to improve the treatment offarm animals.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of theminute from L.A. Times Opinion »

Though numerous animal welfare groups supportthe measure, some oppose it on the grounds that itdoes not go far enough. And some agricultureindustry groups argue that it goes too far too fast.The Assn. of California Egg Farmers argues thatfarmers have already spent $250 millioncomplying with Proposition 2, and the newmeasure would force those who have not alreadygone cage-free — 62% of the state’s egg farmers —

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3/25/19, 10:53 AMYes on Proposition 12. Let's get rid of cages for hens for real - Los Angeles Times

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to spend even more.

If Proposition 2 is any guide, egg prices won’t goup sharply. According to a Purdue University studyof egg prices in California from December 2014 toSeptember 2016, the average price of a dozen eggsrose 22%. But by the fall of 2016, prices were only9% higher than they were right before the law tookeffect in 2015. (On a $3 carton of a dozen eggs, thatwould have been an increase of little more than aquarter.)

The National Pork Producers Council opposes themeasure, saying that the mandatory changes inhousing conditions would come at significant costand increase food prices. However, as with hens,there is a growing movement to treat pigs andcalves more humanely. There are already ninestates (including California) that bar in-state porkproducers from using gestation crates for pregnantsows.

It’s heartening that both farmers and buyersacknowledge the importance of improving animalwelfare standards. But it’s also important thatanimal welfare standards be more thansuggestions or good-hearted gestures to beundertaken when it’s convenient and withdrawnwhen it’s not. That’s why it’s important to have alaw like Proposition 12 in place. If Proposition 2moved animal welfare standards one step forward,Proposition 12 moves them an important stepfurther.

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3/25/19, 10:53 AMYes on Proposition 12. Let's get rid of cages for hens for real - Los Angeles Times

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