Little Rhody Egg Farms in Foster, Rhode Island, is a local example of how most hens in the U.S. are raised to produce eggs for human consumption. At their windowless warehouse, almost 40,000 hens live in tiny cages.
~ The hens are purchased from "hatcheries" where the male chicks, considered “useless”, are typically left in dumpsters to die, electrocuted, or ground up alive in industrial garbage disposals and processed as chicken feed.
~ As young chicks, a portion of their sensitive beaks is cut off without anesthesia to prevent them from harming one another under the enormous stress of confinement.
~ The hens are given only 68 square inches of space, an area slightly smaller than a sheet of notebook paper.
~ Their cage is so tiny that the hens are unable to even spread their wings and move freely.
~ The hens are subjected to having a portion of their sensitive beaks cut off without anesthesia to prevent them from harming each other in such intensive confinement.
~ The wire cages are stacked high in rows. For almost two years, the hens are forced to endure the harsh metal grate on their tender feet and the overpowering smell of ammonia from their waste as the sheds are never cleaned.
~ After almost two years, many of the hens are shipped like cargo to Antonelli Poultry Inc., a live market in Providence, where hundreds of birds are stacked cage upon cage in squalor, to witness the brutal killing of their cage mates before them.
Visit Photo Galleries for more photos.
Photo Left: Hens at Antonelli Live Market, Providence, RI, before being killed in front of one another. Notice the extreme feather loss from being held captive in such confinement their entire lives. This cage is one of many stacked upon each other.
Please call Little Rhody Egg Farms in Foster and let them know how opposed you are to such brutal cruelty and killing: 401-397-3033.
Truth Behind the Labels
| Are Free Range or Cage Free Eggs ANY DIFFERENT? |
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| The Short Answer...No! Photo of Free Range” or “Cage Free” Hens |
~ Companies in the business of selling eggs use terms like “free range” and “cage free” to make people feel better about buying eggs. But most of these hens endure lives just as bleak.
~ As with Little Rhody, chicks from “free range or cage free” farms are typically purchased from the same hatcheries where male chicks are killed in horrific ways.
~ Most hens are subjected to beak mutilation due to crowded conditions and periodic starvation.
~ Young hens are killed when they are two years old for low grade meat, as it is not “cost effective” to keep them alive.
Going Egg Free...Why?
~ Hens are typically deprived of basic needs and then brutally killed whether the industry labels it “free range” and “cage free” or not.
~ Birds are not legally protected and suffer abuses that are crimes if inflicted upon a cat or dog.
~ We all have an obligation to prevent cruelty, suffering and unjust killing .
~ There is no dietary need for eggs. In fact, eggs are high in fat and cholesterol.
~ Doctors and scientists have traced diseases like swine flu and avian bird flu to large farms where animals are severely confined.
How?
~ You can still have your cake and eat it too! Delicious desserts can be made without eggs.
~ Eggs are often used in baked products because they bind things together. But there are many ways to do that!
Baking Tips
Vinegar and baking soda: For a rising or lightening effect in cakes, cupcakes and breads, combine 1 teaspoon of baking soda with 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
Ground Flaxseed: Rich in essential omega 3 fatty acids, 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed whisked with 3 tablespoons of water in a blender or food processor will replace one egg. Flaxseed works best in nutty, grainy items like pancakes, waffles, bran muffins and oatmeal cookies.
Bananas: For its binding abilities, half of a potassium and magnesium rich mashed or pureed banana will generally replace one or two eggs in breads, muffins, cakes and pancakes.
Applesauce: Full of fiber and vitamin C, unsweetened applesauce offers the binding and moisture needed in baked goods. ¼ cup equals one egg. Applesauce works best when you want the results to be moist, as in brownies.
Silken Tofu: Rich in protein and fiber, but without the cholesterol and little, if any, saturated fat, this soy-based ingredient works best in dense, moist cakes and brownies. One egg can be replaced with ¼ cup of tofu whipped in a blender or food processor.
Egg replacer powder: This non-perishable potato based product works universally, but is best in cookies.
Adapted from The Joy of Vegan Baking; The Compassionate Cooks’ Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets, by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, 2007.