Not really. The way conventional eggs are produced is cruel and unnecessary. However, thanks to the very awesome Erik Marcus at Vegan.com, we now have a video hosted by Mike Rowe that shows how clean and efficient battery cages are. Erik does a fantastic job at disproving the video, so you should definitely check out how post.

The video makes some pretty outrageous claims. For example, the video refers to a study from Sweden that suggests that cages are safer than free range because there are fewer chicken deaths, cannibalism is less frequent, and there are lower levels are bacterial and parasitic diseases. Can this really be true?

Battery caged hens are subjected to terrifying conditions. They have little to no room to move around, they are unable to function as hens normally would, and they have to deal with very unsanitary conditions. Don’t let the video fool you – egg operations are not that clean. Just like with humans, unsanitary living conditions lead to disease. The Vegetarian Society cites bronchitis, fatigue, leukosis, egg peritonitis, avian coccidiosis, salmonella, and campylobacter as examples. And we’ve all heard of bird flu.

Something from the video really bothered me – Paul Thompson, one of the people interviewed, made a statement about ethics. He said, “the price of eggs actually is an important ethical consideration.” It is all too clear that egg producers and their supporters do not care about the welfare of the hens. The only thing that matters is profit. That is a terribly sad realization.

For much more information about the conventional production of eggs and the treatment of hens, visit Compassion Over Killing.