"The US Egg Industry Is Losing Its Fight To Keep Chickens in Cages"

"Things are starting to look up for the US’s flock of nearly 300 million egg-laying hens. Right now, approximately 96% of those chickens live in cages, with only about 67 to 86 square inches (170 to 220 cm) of usable space per bird. But that may soon change.

The United Egg Producers, the egg industry’s major trade group, said last week that it will not raise money to fight an upcoming 2016 Massachusetts ballot initiative that will require that farm animals—specifically egg-laying hens, breeding pigs, and veal calves—have enough space to stand up, turn around and fully stretch their limbs, Politico reported. Although Massachusetts is not a major egg-producing state, the initiative would also limit what can be sold there, meaning that an egg from a caged hen in Iowa could not be legally sold in Massachusetts, making the rule farther-reaching than a similar California initiative, passed in 2008. (A subsequent California law, though, closed that loophole.)

The UEP told Politico that it learned from its efforts to defeat the California ballot initiative: Despite spending $10 million and building a large coalition of trade groups, Californians overwhelmingly—about 64%—voted to pass the law. 'We got clobbered,' UEP President Chad Gregory told Politico. (A UEP spokesperson told Quartz that its statements were mischaracterized by Politico but would not elaborate further. Politico told Quartz that it stands by its story.)"

Deena Shanker reports for Quartz September 21, 2015.