will Burnaby chicken out?
Author:
Diane Haynes
Publication:
Burnaby Now
Publication Date:
October 10, 2007
Fried, poached, boiled or scrambled with tomato, basil and pine nuts, I like my eggs. So imagine my surprise when I first discovered - well into my 30s - that eggs aren't yellow. At least, they're not supposed to be. Those small, wan yolks are pale imitations of the healthy, organic eggs that come from naturally fed, free-ranging chickens. Real eggs look like a summer sunset over English Bay. They taste like it, too. Overnight, I went from paying $2.15 a dozen to $4.69 - a 118 per cent increase in my cost, true, but a small price to pay once I realized that animals are subsidizing the cheap cost of regular eggs with their lives.
In 2002, the Vancouver Humane Society launched Chicken Out! (www.chickenout.ca), saying, "We want you to put the chicken before the egg." (At last, that question answered!) The society is working with schools, businesses, governments and other consumers to encourage them to eliminate their use of eggs from caged hens.
Battery egg production, as it's called, is regarded by animal welfare experts as the worst example of animal cruelty in agriculture, in terms of sheer numbers. In Canada alone, 98 percent of our 26 million egg-laying hens are raised in 16-by-18-inch cages for their entire adult lives. Five to seven animals are confined together, barely able to move and unable to flap their wings, dust-bathe, nest or perch, a third of their beaks removed to prevent attacks and self-mutilation. Such aggression is common, as are foot ailments, feather-plucking, osteoporosis and even cannibalism. Ten percent - or 2.6 million animals - can't endure the suffering for the usual 12- to 18-month lifespan and simply die.
Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands have already banned the use of barren battery cages country-wide, and the European Union as a whole will do the same in 2012. Although our federal government has expressed no plans to follow suit, the Chicken Out! campaign has already scored some major successes right here in the Lower Mainland.
On May 29 of this year, Richmond became the first city in North America to go cage-free. That means they'll stop using eggs from caged hens in all city-run facilities. They're also recommending that residents, including restaurants, caterers, retailers and wholesalers, choose certified organic free-range eggs.
On July 26, City of Vancouver councillors passed a similar resolution. On Sept. 5, Whistler joined them and went a step further by writing a letter to the Union of B.C. Municipalities recommending all cities in the province of B.C. adopt a similar policy.
As Bruce Passmore, the Vancouver Humane Society's farm animal welfare project coordinator, says, "The motions as passed by the cities cost (them) nothing but are still quite effective."
In addition, Crofton House School, Langara College and BCIT have all "chickened out," and UBC and SFU will likely implement their own policies later this year.
All of which led me to expect that my home city of Burnaby would be next in line for this sunny-side up project. Says Passmore, however, "So far, we have had no reply from Burnaby. We sent a new request a few weeks ago hoping the (other cities') decisions would help. As for whether there are any council members supportive of the project, we don't know yet. No one wants to support gross animal cruelty, so once they understand the issue, I am sure they will come on board."
On the other hand, Passmore says, "We have certainly had interest from residents." That's you and me.
And BCIT spokesperson Allison Markin says, "We'd be happy to share our experience in making this change with any member of the community that's looking at similar options."
I think it's time we let our city council know this is a policy we want to see enacted here. It may be OK to let the Olympic cities take the lead on this one - the world is watching, and all that - but let's not lag too far behind. We're not doing this to protect sponsorship dollars; we're doing it for the animals.
Email Mayor Corrigan mayor.corrigan@burnaby.ca) with your note of support for Chicken Out!, and I promise I'll send him a copy of this column.
After all, any way you cook 'em, we Burnaby folks like our eggs best cruelty-free.
Diane Haynes is the author of Jane Ray's Wildlife Rescue Series for teens www.wildliferescueseries.com
