The much awaited ban on battery eggs isn’t as straightforward as it sounds.
The New Year brings with it resolutions and an opportunity for change, and January will see millions of us in the UK pledge to ourselves that we’re going to change the way we eat, making use of healthier, greener, more local and more welfare friendly ingredients.
The biggest resolution of its kind this year comes not from individuals, but from the government. The start of 2012 marks the long-awaited ban on producing ‘battery’ eggs in this country.
Legislation
The official definition of ‘battery’ hens and eggs is contentious, but can effectively be taken to mean any eggs produced in ways not meeting the new ‘minimum welfare standards’, as laid out by the EU. These include giving at least 750cm of cage area per hen, as well as the provision of items such as perches and ‘litter’ so that pecking and scratching are possible. The full details can be seen in this PDF.
Legislation
The official definition of ‘battery’ hens and eggs is contentious, but can effectively be taken to mean any eggs produced in ways not meeting the new ‘minimum welfare standards’, as laid out by the EU. These include giving at least 750cm of cage area per hen, as well as the provision of items such as perches and ‘litter’ so that pecking and scratching are possible. The full details can be seen in this PDF.
