Page 2 - National Poultry Newspaper

The pressing case for caged eggs in Australia
Poultry Industry Calendar of Events
2020
JUL 7 – Annual Poultry Club Show Ipswich Showgrounds, Ipswich, QLD
JUL 20-22 Poultry Science Association (PSA) Virtual Annual Meeting poultryscience.org/PSA-Annual-Meeting
NOV 4-5 – Poultry Xpo, Stratford, Canada www.poultryxpo.ca
2021
FEB 9-10 – Australasian Poultry Science Symposium, University of Sydney, NSW www.apss2021.com.au
APR 11-13 – Poultry Information Exchange/Australasian Milling Conference (PIX/AMC), Gold Coast, QLD www.pixamc.com.au
JUN 21-23 – European Symposium on the Quality of Poultry Meat and XIX European Symposium on the Quality of Eggs and Egg Products, Krakow, Poland www.eggmeat2021.com
AUG 8-12 – World Poultry Congress, Paris, France www.wpcparis2020.com
AUG 16-18 – World Poultry Science Association (WPSA) – Cambridge UK www.wpsa2020.org/
How to supply event details: Send all details to National Poultry Newspaper, PO Box 387, Cleveland, Qld 4163, call 07 3286 1833 fax: 07 3821 2637, email: design@poultrynews.com.au
poultrynews.com.au
07 3286 1833
WHEN you walk into a supermarket to buy eggs, you are faced with three distinct choices – caged eggs, barn laid eggs and free range eggs.
could be passed to hu- mans.
port and store your eggs – are all inputs that are paid for by farmers.
Like most small busi- nesses, about 98 percent of egg farmers operate family-run farms.
In reality, egg produc- tion systems are tech- nologically far more advanced compared to ‘battery hens’ that were common in Australia in the 1970s, and unlike other countries ‘battery’ hen farming, where a bird is tightly and uncomfort- ably enclosed in a single cage, is banned in Aus- tralia and does not exist.
tralia agree that excellent animal care practices are paramount for all of Aus- tralia’s egg farmers.
If, however, our mul- tinational supermarket chains paid farmers a fairer margin for each egg they dispatch, then caged egg farmers would be in a better position fi- nancially to examine new farming methods and op- portunities in future.
When it comes to caged, barn laid and free range eggs, all three farming methods are necessary in order to maintain a reli- able and sustainable sup- ply of eggs to your local supermarket.
The best example to highlight this was in New Zealand.
This is why, when a new set of national welfare standards and guidelines governing the care of farm animals is endorsed by the federal govern- ment, our organisation wants those rules manda- tory on every egg farm.
Recently however, there has been adverse public- ity about caged egg pro- duction, fuelled by ani- mal activists, a decision by Coles to ban caged eggs in some of its stores and ignorance within the media.
When New Zealand an- nounced it was banning caged egg production, the nation’s agribusiness sector was thrown into chaos.
Further to this, Egg Farmers of Australia sup- port a cap on the current system of caged eggs.
Big retailers such as Coles and the national arm of the RSPCA are be- hind a drive to ban caged egg farming in Australia, in the misguided belief that other forms of egg production are in the best interest of laying hens.
They are the cleanest eggs, with the lowest in- cident of disease amongst hens, and to ensure con- sumer appetite for fresh eggs is sustainable, it’s necessary that about 88 percent of the world’s egg production is from caged eggs.
Supermarkets chains failed to keep up sup- ply and in the end New Zealand simply ran out of eggs.
Many farmers might take out 30-year bank loans to set up a viable caged production system.
However, these birds are not mistreated.
The media reported that New Zealand was “in the grip of an egg shortage as the industry undergoes a massive pe- riod of disruption while it transitions to free- range farming.”
This rule will coincide with the introduction of the long-awaited Aus- tralian Animal Welfare Standards and Guide- lines, currently under government review.
To close this system overnight, without com- pensation to pay off their bank debts, would be ex- tremely unfair.
In discussing this top- ic two issues are worth exploring further – the economic consequences of the sudden removal of caged eggs from Aus- tralian agribusiness, and the humane welfare and treatment of the caged hens themselves.
In terms of welfare, scientific research shows that caged hens are healthier and have the lowest incidence of dis- ease.
It’s not only Coles, mul- tinational fast food out- lets such as McDonald’s have also moved to ban caged eggs from their kitchens.
This action means that egg producers who are looking to expand their operations need to do so by investing in new methods of egg produc- tion other than conven- tional cages, which are now in use.
To break it down, for ordinary mums and dads, such a move would be ak- in to being forced to bull- doze your family home but still having to pay the mortgage afterwards for a building that no longer exists.
When comparing free range, barn laid and mod- ern caged eggs, it might surprise you to learn that of all natural foods, caged eggs are among the lowest cost protein avail- able in your supermarket.
Many New Zealand farmers who had heavily invested in caged farming methods were put out of business.
While the use of con- ventional cages as they stand now is able to continue, Egg Farmers of Australia has made a commitment that in long- er-term future there will be no new conventional cages added to the cur- rent egg production cycle within Australia.
As it stands today, a sudden ban on caged eggs would unfairly leave farmers with ‘stranded assets’.
As a result, numerous ordinary workers lost their jobs and the cost of eggs for consumers sky- rocketed.
What does this mean?
While Australia has high standards in its eggs and egg producers, other countries do not.
The prices on shelves are decreasing, particu- larly for the non-cage segments.
Eggs are the most af- fordable source of protein for all Aussie families and on average we each consume 247 eggs per head each year.
As the sixth largest country in the world Australia’s population continues to rise, with expectations that we will reach 40 million people beyond the next decade.
As with the milk indus- try, big supermarkets are largely to blame for sti- fling farm returns when it comes to negotiating the price of eggs.
Egg Farmers of Aus- tralia is the lobby voice of Australian egg produc- ers and represents farm- ers who operate within all three egg-production systems.
tight household budgets in lower socio-economic circumstances.
It is not surprising that the multinational super- market chains want to close caged egg farms, because the sale of eggs produced under alterna- tive farming methods is likely to reap higher profits per carton at the check-out.
This upward trend will create an even greater demand for eggs, under- lying the need to main- tain current caged egg
Absurdly, the Australi- an Competition and Con- sumer Commission does not allow our organisa- tion to talk openly about how much each farmer receives per egg.
In total, our farmers produce 19 million eggs every day to satisfy the growing domestic de- mand for Australian eggs.
This is evidenced by the CSIRO, which reports that in Australia around 40 percent of all eggs sold in our supermarkets are cage farmed.
production as it stands. This is to ensure a sus- tainable and affordable
The ACCC claims it would be colluding.
This creates jobs and equates to a $1.8 billion injection into Australia’s economy.
The facts about caged egg farming are often distorted by those who do not understand the hu- mane standards sustained by the modern industry.
The likes of Coles, owned by Wesfarmers, should be warned that there are severe conse- quences for closing down caged egg production for the entire country.
on animal welfare.
Egg Farmers of Aus-
Because by doing so, the ACCC increases the supermarkets’ power to keep wholesale prices low – obstructing the ability of family-run egg farms to earn a fair liv- ing.
supply of the protein. When it comes to the debate about caged eggs emphasis is often placed
It’s an unfair rule.
Caged egg farming is a long-term investment.
Removing caged eggs from our production sys- tem without a long-term plan and compensation would be disastrous for many rural farming fami- lies, as well as those city families who rely heavily on eggs as a staple form of nutrition.
Antibiotics are not needed in this environ- ment and the mortality rate is the lowest of any of the three production systems.
So, what’s the big prob- lem?
Unlike New Zealand, maintaining a cap on conventional cages is necessary to ensure the continuation of a reliable and sustainable supply of eggs to Australian con- sumers without generat- ing chaos in the market- place.
In conclusion, let’s re- cap... according to the CSIRO, currently around 40 percent of all eggs sold in Australian super- markets are caged.
Cage farming also of- fers the highest protec- tion from predators and because of a high level of on-farm biosecurity standards, it has the low- est need for vaccination.
Currently, to maintain a sustainable supply of fresh Australian eggs for Aussie consumers, our egg industry needs to introduce 600,000 new hens into the egg produc- tion line every year.
Therefore, it is not hard to work out that if caged eggs were removed from the shelf, retailers would never have enough eggs to satisfy consumer de- mand, and the cost of a carton of eggs would sky- rocket beyond affordable means.
Want us to
cover your event?
Get noticed by key poultry industry members!
NATIONAL
Email editorial@poultrynews.com.au or call 07 3286 1833
For Coles, the idea is more about positioning it- self as a ‘corporate social citizen’ than out of real compassion for Austral- ian poultry.
Importantly for the en- vironment, caged farm- ing has the lowest carbon footprint out of Austral- ia’s three key egg produc- tion methods.
That’s 600,000 extra hens each year, just to keep up with existing de- mand.
The other key point of this debate is that if the supermarket goliaths genuinely want to main- tain a reliable supply of Australian laid eggs, then they should be willing to pay more per egg to our farmers.
To make up the short- fall, eating foreign im- ported eggs would need to be considered.
Retail giants claim that axing the caged egg sec- tor is what consumers want.
Believe it or not it is free range egg farming that leaves the highest carbon footprint.
Without caged eggs this figure could not be achieved – resulting in a mass shortage of eggs Australia-wide.
This would pose signifi- cant health risks to your family and to Australian agribusiness.
However, the next time you visit a major super- market take a good look in the egg fridge.
Free range eggs also cost the most to produce and are more likely to cost more at the super- market.
Such a shortage, as seen in New Zealand, would force Australian super- markets and fast food chains to import foreign eggs from places similar to Brazil and China.
The next time you tuck into your bacon and eggs for breakfast, a baked muffin at smoko or a quiche during the day, consider the cost of pro- ducing each egg going into such dishes.
As Aussie egg farmers, we ask the public and de- cision makers to hear us out and fully appraise all of the facts on the issue of caged eggs.
The chances are the shelf with caged eggs – the cheapest of all eggs to produce – is among the emptiest.
In free range farming eggs must be washed, antibiotics are required, and both cannibalism and mortality rates with- in free range flocks are higher than for any other farming method.
This result would be un- acceptable.
This is because caged eggs are what many families buy most, es- pecially those juggling
There are diseases in eggs in other countries that could wipe out Aus- tralia’s remaining egg in- dustry, several of which
Grain to feed hens, wa- ter, electricity, wages, fu- el and vet fees even the cardboard cartons that make it easier to trans-
The choice to buy caged, free range or barn laid eggs should be that of consumers, not the re- tail giants.
Page 2 – National Poultry Newspaper, June 2020
www.poultrynews.com.au
NATIONAL
© Collins Media Pty Ltd – Contents may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. It is the responsibility of advertisers to ensure the correctness of their claims and statements. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.
by MELINDA HASHIMOTO CEO
CANCELLED