McDonald’s Weighs Hen Housing Options

McDonald’s USA is participating in a commercial-scale study of housing alternatives for egg-laying hens. The study, which expects to involve tens of thousands of hens, will look at the sustain-ability impacts of different laying hen housing environments on animal health and well-being, safe and affordable food, the environment, and worker welfare, according to a release.

Egg Wars A Thing Of The Past, Producers Told

When Harold Froese became Manitoba’s representative on the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency’s board of directors, the national egg system seemed about to implode. Bitter arguments between provinces over quota allocations and industrial egg programs threatened to tear the agency apart. What a difference a few years make. Since 2001, there has been “unprecedented peace” in


Salmonella Insurance Soon Available For Egg Farmers

Anew program to insure Canada’s egg industry against the effects of Salmonella enteritidis (Se) should be ready this spring. The program, expected to be ready April 1, will compensate egg farmers for economic losses stemming from Se in their operations. It will also extend to hatcheries, Manitoba egg producers were told at their recent annual

Ontario cities ban cage eggs

Orillia and Pickering have bowed to pressure from the Humane Society of Canada to ban the sale of eggs from caged hens in all municipal facilities. The Humane Society calls it a landmark decision. It follows similar bans in university cafeterias, including the University of Guelph. The Humane Society says the councils are also encouraging


China detains suspect

The owner of a Chinese feed factory suspected of adding melamine to its product which turned up in tainted eggs has been detained, state media said Nov. 5. Chinese products ranging from milk powder to chocolate and yogurt have been recalled throughout the world due to contamination fears. Melamine, used in making plastic chairs among

California cage ban might be contagious

Farm groups have criticized a new California law that bans keeping chickens, calves, and pigs in cages, arguing it will increase production costs, while animal welfare proponents said they hope to get similar laws adopted in other states. California voters passed Proposition 2 on Nov. 4, which bans the confinement of egg-laying chickens, veal calves