Schwarzenegger signs landmark egg bill into law

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday signed legislation into law requiring that eggs sold in California come from hens that are not crammed into cages.

The law requires all eggs sold in the state as of Jan. 1, 2015, to come from hens able to stand up, fully extend their limbs, lie down and fully extend their wings without touching each other or the sides of cages.

The new regulations comply with the standards outlined in Proposition 2, which was approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2008.

The measure, which captivated  animal welfare advocates, was championed by the Humane Society of the United States as a way to protect hens and improve food safety for consumers.

"Californians have made it clear that they don't want unsafe eggs from hens crammed into cages, and we applaud the Legislature and governor for heeding this call," Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said in a statement.

-- Robert J. Lopez

Comments

[David]

You must be joking. California is facing a $19 billion deficit, the economy is struggling the great recession, and long term unemployment persists - and we are spending limited resources on the chicken bill of rights. This is a symptom of our problem.

[Greg]

Ah, yes, as Chief Justice George observed, the Goverenator is implementing the Proposition that gave chickens rights the same day as we took rights away from LGBTs.

[Dan]

I don't think voters cared at all about egg "safety." Certainly I did not. It was, instead, about basic humane treatment of animals. Don't misunderstand me...I eat chicken, beef, eggs, whatever; I'm certainly no vegetarian. But it is inhuman to not treat these animals as kindly as we can. As the Law of Moses says "The righteous man is kind even to his beast."

[Erwin]

The voters asked for it in 2008 and it'll become law in 2015. The speed at which government works is just amazing.

[Jim]

Why doesn't the author mention why this was done?

(It was done to prevent companies from circumventing Prop 2 by relocating to other states and importing eggs to California).

[state citizen]

I am assuming that is why we can't get the budget signed because they are so busy taking care of hens. Please do something with the state economy.

[William Jorgensen]

The really good thing is they lay better eggs when they can move around a bit... Who'd have thought it would actually happen, given the extra cash required for extra space especially.

[Sandy]

And it just gets worse. Three days ago I read Hilary Clinton wants to give The Congo people $17,000,000 because of brutality issues in that country. While their issues are terrible and I'm all for helping others, our country should be our concern in light of our economic situation. We shouldn't be considering $17,000 let alone $17 mil.
Then today I heard our President ordered the head of NASA -keep in mind the S is for space- to go out and promote science particularly to Muslim countries to build relations. What?? No space exploration, just Muslim relation exploration.
And now while people are losing homes, jobs, and who knows what will happen to California we are worried about chickens standing while laying eggs. News flash, I'm pretty sure chickens sit down while they lay eggs, but correct me if I'm wrong on that. This is unbelievable.

[MissMarple]

David, it costs the government nothing to tell the egg industry to stop torturing hens. It will cost very little over the lifetime of the capital assets, to make these changes by the industry. They will have to enlarge their facilities, but those are capital assets, with they will depreciate on their tax returns.

Healthier hens lay higher quality eggs. These eggs may bring higher prices than before, just because they are better and larger. We shall have to wait and see, but I will speculate that they will get better and larger eggs on the amount of feed that they are feeding their hens now. Nutrition is wasted by the birds trying to deal with crowded conditions. When the conditions are not crowded, the nutrition will not be wasted.

[Jeff Davis]

The Humane Society rep says, "Californians have made it clear that they don't want unsafe eggs from hens crammed into cages." How are the eggs unsafe? Have thousands of people been keeling over from eggs from chickens who can't do jumping jacks? I think I missed something.

[BLM]

Another coup or should I say coop...for the loony left. The state is falling apart and politicians and those with way too much time on their hands are focused on chicken eggs, not the eggs layed by the politicians.

[Joel Johnson]

And what is this going to do to the price of eggs?

[jamesincalifornia]

Why must it take seven long years to put this measure into effect?

[barry]

Two thoughts. Please help me understand why it takes 5 years to implement something like this? Sounds like a payoff. Second, do the chickens also get the rights of corporations like the corporations did?

[pj]

I agree with Dan - Proverbs 12:10 says that we are to care for the lives of God's animals. Cramming them into cages where they cannot even walk, spread their wings, or do things laying hens naturally need to do is not caring for them in the eyes of God. Thank you people of California for taking a stand against animal cruelty!

pj - Texas (... and NO I'm not a vegetarian)

[JEFF MCINTYRE]

egg law look at the tax next time you pump gas .35 cents a gallon. now watch eggs price go through the roof. thank you

humane society wackos

[Kevin]

And now people will complain when the price of eggs goes up.

[Eve]

He has more compassion for chickens than he does for California's families. I will never spend another dime on anything associated with this man. Why should any Californian make him any richer?

[alice in LALA Land]

Dan.. you had every opportunity to buy cage free eggs if you so desired.. they are offered at almost every supermarket in the state.. they just COST MORE.. and most people in this state are already struggling to make ends meet.. and we worry about chickens rights?? ..
This is indeed a blockade of sorts to prevent competition from other states who are more sensible than Ca and to prevent the monetary loss that egg producers bring to the state..funny thing though.. it will raise egg prices in CA.. but other states will not have the same increase.. so where will you buy your eggs if you live near the border?? Will you by eggs just before crossing into the state? Probably not.. but while other states enjoy the freedom to have SAFE food products CA will be raising your food prices AGAIN by forcing proven methods of food production to be abandoned.
Look at what the HSUS really wants.. the leader of the cult is a vegan.. all of their "in house' events are vegan.. and many outside events as well..they really don't give a flip if eggs are 15 dollars each.. in fact they would love to see it..and it is their ultimate goal ..that way less people could afford the "luxury" of eating any dairy products, egg products or meat...

"We have no ethical obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced through selective breeding. . One generation and out. We have no problem with the extinction of domestic animals. They are creations of human selective breeding." Wayne Pacelle, .. Humane Society of the US

and
"My goal is the abolition of all animal agriculture." JP Goodwin, employed at the Humane Society of the US,

Arnie has just helped them get a bit further to their goal.. one egg at a time..

[alice in LALA Land]

tell me how "food safety" is enhanced by this bill? Free range chickens have access to all sorts of diseases.. eggs from free range chickens are often laid in excrement.. egg shells are porous.. hmmm

[EverAfterPatrick]

While it is good for the chickens, it is not good for the right to contract between store owners and factory chicken raisers or for the ability of consumers to freely choose. Why did it need government action? Why couldn't the people of CA (or any other state/community) just tell store managers they will not buy eggs from caged chickens and then don't. Seek out local farmers or neighbors who raise chickens humanely and buy from them instead.

[Laura Johnson]

This law is going to be a big surprise for California consumers. Anytime the HSUS has supported legislation or regulation, it has been directed towards limiting, restricting or prohibiting some animal use. That doesn't always translate into doing what is best for the animals, although that is what the HSUS propaganda states. Just look at the Horse Slaughter Act, which makes it illegal for horses to be slaughtered in the US at a slaughter house. People figured that these horses would now be saved from death. Unfortunately, horses with no other use are sent to slaughter facilities and now that means they travel for hours and days to Mexico where they are slaughtered in a far less humane way than when in the US. The propaganda put forward indicated horses were slaughtered for human consumption. Most horse meat went to zoo animals and to animal food processing plants. These were horses that owners could no longer keep or feed and there was no other place for them to go. Folks, any time you let people who are not animal management experts make the decisions about animal care and welfare, you are asking for trouble. How many people know the true agenda of the HSUS...to END ALL ANIMAL USE BY HUMANS, including pets. So, wake up folks. Maybe your new California egg law will wake you up. We can only hope so.

[Joy, Sacramento]

Glad that chickens will be treated humanely. I agree with other comments here, that we should always treat animals with kindness, even if we will eventually eat them. Wish we could ban fois gras, which is created by force-feeding geese.

[Pragmatista]

Do none of you remember: PEOPLE VOTED THIS INTO LAW!!!

This was not the government's doing, so stop blaming Schwarzenegger. It was enacted by your fellow voters. This feel-good regulation that aimed to help innocent chickens live in nicer conditions won by a landslide because it tugged at people's heartstrings, but didn't make them consider its ramifications.

We will either see California's egg farms head out of state, or we will see higher egg prices at the supermarket. Or we'll just lose our egg farms, and supermarkets will just import eggs from out of state.

Did you know that California has an Egg Quality Assurance Board? Other states don't have this. EQAB serves to ensure safety in the egg supply. Without EQAB you can expect to see an increase in Salmonella infections from egg consumption, and that means an increase in medical costs that may wind up in the laps of the public if any of the affected are uninsured.

So there, the chickens that stay in California will live comfy lives, but you're all expected to pay for it.

btw, I voted against Prop 2, tried to warn people against it, and was called "cruel" towards animals.

[wayne]

Hey we can stay bankrupt but we sure as hell want hens to have some leg room hahahahaha. What a damned joke California is becoming lol.