Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., November 03, 2009 Cheshvan 16, 5770 | | Israel Time: 02:17 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Travel Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
Share |
Happier hens
By Rachel Tal-Shir

The increasing interest in the living conditions of hens (no, that's not a typo) shows clearly how the "green revolution" has expanded our outlook.

If we once thought only about the price, size and freshness of our eggs, now, due to ethical and environmental trends, we look into the issue of battery cages - the chickens' jails - and find among us people who are willing to go to war in order to slightly improve the health, mood and environment of the hens.
Advertisement

In September I reported on the living conditions of bees, who among the creatures employed by the food industry seem to be the least deserving of our attention, not to say pity.

But even they, so it seems, are of interest to animal rights' organizations.

Thus it is not surprising that despite the Iranian threat and the global economic slowdown, there are people whose prime concern is the welfare of chickens and who and are ready to risk their lives for it.

The Israeli chicken, to anyone who has not yet heard, is the subject of a crucial decision: A proposed reform would move chicken coops currently housed in moshavim from these collecting farming villages into huge poultry coops located in open areas.

In short, the idea is to enlarge by more than 50 percent the space available to each chicken that is currently cooped up in a battery cage.

That would seem to be a significant improvement, but animal rights activists note that even after this upgrade we are still talking about life in a confined area of 550 square centimeters (that is, a square of 23 cm.), that in relation to the chicken's size is still dense and suffocating.

The organizations say the shameful conditions in which laying hens are kept stem from a desire to produce commercial quantities of eggs cheaply, in addition to the cruel practice of robbing the mother hens of their eggs.

This claim is based, in part, on regulations issued by the Agriculture Ministry itself, stipulating that chicken farmers must provide ample living space.

The dimensions specified are spacious by any standard (and about four times the space one generally finds in the egg industry).

But, and this is a big but, these regulations do not apply to the food industry, only to farm-raised chicken - in other words, usually in small quantities.

For this reason, animal rights organizations have appealed to the High Court of Justice demanding a halt to the Agriculture Ministry's proposed reforms, which while expanding cage sizes slightly still call for battery cages, at a cost of NIS 300 million.

They claim that this would be a waste of taxpayers' money and that the real cost, including that of moving the chickens, would be around NIS 750 million - all for inhumane goals.

They note that Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Holland, Sweden and California all ban battery cages.

The organizations hope to force the ministry to establish free-range coops, in which the hens can spread their wings, walk on solid ground and peck for their food.

Real luxuries. ("Organic" and "free-range" eggs come from such coops. Some people claim that although conditions for these hens are much better than those of their battery-raised sisters there is room for improvement.)

Let us say, for the sake of argument, that the animal-rights' activists are exaggerating, that they want to completely eradicate the gap in living conditions between industrial hens and those raised on farms.

It is obvious that the interests of farmers and consumers must be considered, and that it must be understood that if the coops turn into summer camps it would be impossible to meet the demand for eggs without charging astronomic prices to buyers.

The activists maintain that the arguments about cage size reflect a warped idea that is based on a failure to recognize animal rights.

Every animal, they say, has the right to choose how to lead its life.

The chicken who sits in a cage, its feet rubbing against the metal-wire floor, wants only earth to step on and enough room to spread its wings.

She wants to move freely and feed as she wishes and to hatch her eggs without them being taken away (and it doesn't matter at all that the chicken, as those who favor the industrial coops say, owe their existence to the human beings and that without the coops they would be extinct.)

So much for the chickens. Now, for the implications on the human beings:

First, many people argue that the eggs, not to mention the meat from battery cages, are unfit for human consumption since the chicken are pumped full of medicines.

Second, anyone who can afford to already buys organic eggs only. Thus the poor are being discriminated against because they get the bad eggs.

Third, who said people must eat so many eggs? Why is that good?

Listen to the vegans and what they have to say about the advantages of plant protein.

Animal rights advocates envisage a future in which all chickens are happy: Uncaged, spending their time in lively movement, pecking for food, taking sand-baths, sitting on their eggs and caring for their chicks.

But until this utopia is reached they are willing to settle for the complete abolition of battery cages.
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Obama? No thanks
Why, despite high percentages of support for peace, do most Israelis dislike Obama?
Oshrenko killer found
Man killed three generations of Rishon Lezion family after they fired him from their restaurant
Special Offers
Advertisement
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Date Local Jewish Singles
Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
More Headlines
23:39 Abbas tells Obama envoy he's adamant on settlement freeze
23:23 Clinton says nuclear proposal to Iran `will not change`
23:45 'I have no proof the IDF harvests Palestinians' organs'
21:59 'Russian who spied on Israel shot dead in Moscow'
17:11 Israel frees six Hamas leaders arrested after Shalit abduction
23:04 In wake of family murder MKs seek death penalty for child killers
19:49 Why do Israelis dislike Barack Obama?
21:45 Twitter co-founder Biz Stone expected to visit Israel
07:19 TV ROUND-UP: Jewish terror suspect arrested; Turkey FM: No Israel alliance
14:26 'There are Jewish terrorists still at large in Israel'
11:06 Why I'm still a proud West Bank settler
13:35 One in every four Israelis lives below poverty line
18:25 Settlements are fertile ground for Jewish terror
14:38 Report: Mossad hacked Syrian computer to uncover nuke site
13:56 How Israel caught the suspected Jewish terrorist
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved