Would you be able to spend 95% of your lifetime in a closet with seven other people?
In California, let alone the United States, chickens live in a small cage for approximately 95% of their lives with 6-8 other chickens. Proposition 2, or in other words, "The Standards for Confining Farm Animals," prohibits "the confinement of farm animals in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs."
Although animal morality is a touchy subject, can we afford it?
The biggest issues conforming to proposition 2 are as followed:
Supporting arguments
- Prop 2 prevents cruelty to animals, since it is simply wrong to confine animals in tiny cages barely large enough for their bodies. To emphasize this argument, supporters of Prop 2 released a video on October 14 that according to the Los Angeles Times shows "egg-laying hens crammed into filthy cages, while, nearby, discarded birds are left to die in piles of corpses."[12]
- Prop 2 improves our health and food safety by requiring better conditions for animals.
- Prop 2 supports family farmers, who are driven out of business when factory farms cut corners and put profits ahead of animal welfare and our health.
- Prop 2 protects air and water and safeguards the environment.
- The price of cage-free eggs will go down.[13]
Opposing arguments
- If it passes, egg supply will go down and egg prices will go up.
- If chickens are not in cages, they are more vulnerable to attacks by predators, including other chickens;
- If egg companies don't want to deal with the new regulations, they can move to other states or Mexico, taking their benefits to local economies with them.[8]
- According to a study put out by the University of California-Davis, if Prop 2 passes, it is likely that it would force the state's $300 million egg industry to move out of the state or out of business entirely.
- The cost of producing eggs would increase by 20% or more.
- The egg business would have to invest about $500 million on new ways to house chickens.[26]
- Consumers would buy trucked-in eggs from other states and Mexico which would be more exposed to salmonella, and the hens more vulnerable to bird flu.[27]
- According to the National Taxpayers Union, Proposition 2 would place additional regulations on how livestock owners must handle their farm animals, which could increase food costs.[28]
According to studies made my a Californian University, It is said the price of an egg will increase "76%" by "2015" if Prop 2 passes. Also, with an approximate 3600 people working in the labor field of Chicken care, it too would increase if they were allowed to roam freely, allowing a more increase in price.
The dream of California as being a "free" state definitely does not apply itself to every inhabitant of California; as shown by Proposition 2. Although Chickens moving around freely is a step towards equality in animal morality for animals themselves, Can we as humans afford it? Even if we could, would we want to?










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