MLBA9: June / July 2009
Abandoning cages: India's move towards cage-free poultry
With this, there is little wonder why cage-free poultry farming is gaining popularity in India as consumers wake up to the risk associated with eggs produced from birds kept in cages.
"We have found out that consumers are willing to pay a higher price for cage-free eggs on the expectation that they are less prone to poultry diseases than eggs from caged birds," said the manager of Reliance Retail, a retail chain in India which offers fresh vegetables, milk and milk products along with non-vegetarian poultry and meat products processed.
The Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), an umbrella group of organizations working to improve the conditions of animals in India, confirmed that usage of cages in poultry farming could be dangerous to both birds and humans and intensive confinement of birds in the factory farms rather than in natural conditions is leading to breeding grounds for various diseases.
In India, it is observed that 75 percent of eggs produced are consumed by 25 percent of the country's population, specifically those living in urban areas. And it is observed that even majority of these urban consumers can afford to pay a higher price for food produced in a more natural, healthy and ethical manner.
Cage-bound hens produce 320 eggs in their layer period whereas cage-free produces 250. But the main comparison is that despite an 18- to 20-percent loss of production of eggs, the cage-free hens are free from hormonal feed cost. In cage-bound hens, hormones have been injected for ovulation and the residual effect of that is passed on to humans. On the contrary, in cage-free systems, hormone point is zero, industry experts note.