Most Americans don’t have to worry about where their next meal is going to come from. In fact, most Americans spend a very small amount of their income purchasing all that food. We literally have the safest and most affordable supply of food in the world.
No doubt this abundance of food at relatively low costs has allowed, at least in part, the rise of the “foodie culture.” The idea is that we can have cheap, healthy food and also dictate the way it’s raised – even if for no other reason than we feel “good” about it. People want to romanticize about Old McDonald and his happy animal friends of yesteryear.
That’s exactly what happened with California voters passed new regulations for chicken farmers in 2008. The law requires that all chickens used for egg production in the state have a minimum cage size, according to the statute. Realizing that California farmers would be at a disadvantage once the new regulations went into effect, the stat’es legislature passed an additional law requiring all eggs sold in the state to meet the requirement. That means that it doesn’t matter where the eggs are produced — if you sell eggs in California, you have to have the larger cages.
If you remember, several states challenged the extension of the ballot proposal as unconstitutional. Unfortunately, a judge in California dismissed the lawsuit.
In the meantime, California’s new regulations went into effect…and people are noticing the difference at the grocery store.
That’s because the price of eggs in California is now almost 300% higher than it was one year ago! “According to USDA, the average price for a dozen jumbo eggs in California is $3.16, up from $1.18/dozen a year ago.” (Source: Brownfield Ag News.)
That’s the thing – these regulations and “feel good” measures come with additional costs. An chicken producer in California has to choose how to proceed: either have less chickens in your facility or create additional space to accommodate the bigger cages. Either way, that means fewer chickens and fewer eggs at a higher cost.
Of course, for most California residents, it probably doesn’t even make a difference that the cost of eggs went up by $2. Big deal. Heck, if it wasn’t for people telling them about it all over the internet, they may not even be aware that the price of eggs went up!
But let’s think about who this actually hurts.
Those with the lowest income obviously spend a greater percentage of their income on food. Those same individuals are now going to see their grocery bill skyrocket and they will end up spending an even larger percentage of their income on food. That may work for the beach bums and starlets, but it doesn’t work so well for those families that don’t have the financial resources and are having to sacrifice to provide for their kids. To them, a couple bucks a week may actually make a big difference. Until now, eggs have been an affordable, healthy option for people to get a filling meal packed with protein.
California voters decided that giving a chicken a few more inches of cage space was more important than making sure there was an affordable and healthy source food choice for the state’s low income population.
But that’s okay; right? Because now all those Hollywood stars and high rollers in the state can feel good when they eat their eggs.
And, really, this is all about feeling good; right?
Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Just a comment about your opening line. Nearly 20% of Americans DO worry about where their next meal is coming from. 20% is not most or even half, but that number is despicable. This will make the number even higher, at least in CA.
You’re right and I certainly didn’t mean to diminish that with my opening line. In fact, recognizing that underscores my later point that this just makes it more difficult for the Americans that DO have to worry. Thanks for the comment!
I live in a rural mountain community in northern California, and our eggs here skyrocketed to $7.99 for an 18 pack. Ridiculous! I’ll be ordering more chicks this spring! But not everyone is able to have their own chickens. Seems like the egg industry is going to get hit anyway, between people like me who’ll just raise their own, and people opting to not buy the high priced eggs.
As egg produces cannot elect to simply NOT ship to California, they will have to spend huge sums of money to refurbish their operations or, as the article states, reduce the amount of laying hens. Either way, this same cost increase will most definitely trickle across the entire US.
Until people wake up and take a stand against these radical extremists who pretend to take the moral high ground to the detriment of the human race, we are at great peril. They simply do not take into account the need to feed more people with less resources. The true results of their efforts is increase world hunger. Their moral high ground in reality is nothing more than fueling their money making machines, pandering off the emotions of people who think they are doing the right thing.
Great article, thank you!
Your article strikes me a few different ways. First, you state we have the world’s largest and safest food supply in our country. Have you heard of GMO’s? They are in 90% of the food consumed in America, yet they are banned in a good portion of the rest of the world because they have been linked to cancer, autism, and many other diseases. I would not consider our food supply the “safest” food on the planet, quite the opposite, actually.
Secondly, these chickens are live beings and they deserve more than to sit in a tiny, over crowded cage their entire life. They are doing us a favor by supplying us with their eggs, and this is how we thank them in return? Yes, it may be costing a pretty penny more, but sometimes doing the right thing comes with a cost.
Amy,
Welcome to my website! This is definitely the right place for you!
First of all, we do have the safest food supply in the entire world. I’m not so sure GMOs are in 90% of the foods we consume, but even if they were I would NOT be upset by this information. Why? Because there is absolutely NO scientific evidence suggesting that they are bad for us or the environment. There certainly has been no scientific research connecting them to cancer, autism, or any other disease. In reality, there have been well over 2,000+ studies done demonstrating that genetically modified crops are perfectly safe. I suggest you read my other article here: https://www.thefarmersdaughterusa.com/2014/07/just-ignore-those-2000-studies-showing.html
I also suggest you check out this article, where I explain that GMOs are certainly not banned in most other countries: https://www.thefarmersdaughterusa.com/2014/04/but-rest-of-world-bans-gmos-right.html
Second, I’m wondering about your experience with animals? The reason I ask is because many farmers that raise chickens have expressed that there are legitimate reasons that they keep chickens in cages or indoors. This protects them from disease and predators. It also reduces how much fighting takes place between the chickens too.
I assure you that most farmers do not want to be mean or cruel to their animals. Quite the opposite actually. It would be like someone that hates animals becoming a vet – why would you choose to work with something you care little about?
I hope you’ll stick around and read up on these topics. There is a search bar at the top of the screen. I suggest typing in “GMO” or “biotech” or “animal agriculture” to see other articles related to those you’ve mentioned.