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National Standards Proposed for Egg Industry

National standards for the humane treatment of egg-laying hens and the labeling of eggs would be set under legislation authored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

She says her bill is the product of an agreement between the Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers, which represent 88 percent of the nation’s egg industry.

“It addresses a patchwork of divergent state laws by establishing a national standard for the humane treatment of egg-laying hens,” Ms. Feinstein says.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, are cosponsors of the legislation. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., has introduced the bill in the House of Representatives.

“This legislation is entirely consistent with California’s Proposition 2, which California voters overwhelmingly passed in 2008,” says Ms. Feinstein. “Prop 2 requires egg producers to increase cage size by 2015 so birds can stand up and extend their wings. This legislation maintains that requirement and deadline for California egg farmers; other states must comply with that standard by 2029.”

She says her bill represents more than two years of negotiation and has broad support from the egg industry and animal welfare groups including the United Egg Producers, the Humane Society of the United States and the Association of California Egg Farmers.

Source: CPEPC


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