By: Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
A recent news item in the Vancouver press illustrates why we need to be critical of what we read, regardless of who it comes from. This particular news story highlighted the growing demand for animal welfare certified foods in B.C. To her credit the journalist went to a noted expert rather than a vested marketer to write her story. In this case she cites UBC professor of applied ethics and long-time welfare researcher David Fraser. According to her reporting, the animal welfare expert says the move (to certified humane) is part of a larger consumer trend of rejecting products from factory farms.
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Posted by FFC on August 22nd, 2011 :: Filed under
Consumers,
eggs,
Food,
Media,
OrganicsTags ::
Consumers,
eggs,
Media
Dan Murphy
(Dan Murphy is a veteran food-industry journalist and commentator in the United States)
Updated: July 11, 2011 - Both sides are carefully calling the agreement between the nation’s egg producers and HSUS leadership a “victory.” For industry, that means that two ballot measures set for November that would have asked Oregon and Washington voters to ban the use of cages in egg production will now be withdrawn.
Why? Mostly because the odds of victory were looking less certain for HSUS.
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Posted by FFC on July 13th, 2011 :: Filed under
Activism,
Animal care,
Chickens,
eggs,
HSUS,
Regulations,
UncategorizedTags ::
activists,
animal care,
animal rights,
animal welfare,
eggs,
HSUS,
misconceptions
By Leslie Ballentine, Farm and food commentator
When we think of cattle, pigs or poultry we may think of our next meal. But what many don’t know is that farm animals provide more than just sustenance. They also save lives in other ways too.
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Posted by FFC on July 4th, 2011 :: Filed under
animal by-products,
Beef cattle,
eggs,
Innovation and technology,
Pigs,
ResearchTags ::
animals,
antibiotics,
cattle,
eggs,
pigs
By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator
I just finished reading some more animal science studies out of Europe (a sure cure for insomnia) on what “free range” and “free run” laying hens are up against. And it’s a bit of a buyer-beware scenario too. Although it is a small niche market here in North America, so-called “cage-free” egg production in the UK has steadily grown in the last 20 years. That is where egg laying hens can move around within the confines of a pasture or barn. But the health and animal welfare news isn’t all good.
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Posted by FFC on May 12th, 2011 :: Filed under
Chickens,
eggs,
Housing,
Poultry,
ResearchTags ::
animal welfare,
eggs,
free range,
Housing,
Research
With a growing interest in buying local, there has also been an increased interest by urban residents in growing their own foods and, in some cases, raising their own chickens for eggs. Here’s a fact sheet prepared by Egg Farmers of Ontario that gives you some tips to think about before you get a backyard flock of your own. – OFAC
Urban Egg Farmer: Top Ten List of Chores
There has been a growing interest in raising egg-laying hens in urban environments.
Properly taking care of chickens requires some physical adaptations to a typical backyard, a daily time
commitment to caring for your flock, a lot of preparation, and a great deal of expertise.
If you are considering having a backyard flock of your own, here is an example of a chore list you should expect.
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Posted by FFC on December 24th, 2009 :: Filed under
Animal health,
backyard flocks,
eggsTags ::
animal welfare,
eggs,
free range
BC egg farmers care for the right reasons. There is more to caring for hens than meets the eye.
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Posted by BCFACC on October 16th, 2009 :: Filed under
Animal health,
Education and public awareness,
eggs,
PoultryTags ::
animal care,
chicken,
education,
eggs,
Farmers,
free range,
Poultry
Food For Thought looks at how we use hens as protein factories to produce an egg a day for our tables
By Luisa D’Amato, Waterloo Region Record, 05 Jul 2008
When you walk into the long, dimly lit barn where Gary West keeps 25,000 egg-laying hens, the first thing you notice is the sound.
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Posted by FFC on July 22nd, 2009 :: Filed under
Education and public awareness,
PoultryTags ::
eggs,
Farmers,
free range,
Ontario,
Poultry
OTTAWA, Aug. 22 /CNW Telbec/ – Working in one of the country’s most dynamic agriculture industries, Canada’s egg farmers have had little time to rest. Just ask Laurent Souligny, 64, a proud egg farmer and chairman of the national egg farmers’ organization, Egg Farmers of Canada (EFC).
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Posted by FFC on July 21st, 2009 :: Filed under
Animal health,
Canada,
PoultryTags ::
agriculture,
animal care,
Biosecurity,
Canada,
eggs,
Farmers,
food,
Housing,
misconceptions,
Poultry
Source: The Record (Kitchener), September 29, 2008, KEVIN SWAYZE
International poultry expert Peter Hunton is tired of the question.
“What came first? The chicken or the egg?”
The Cambridge man answers in a deadpan tone.
“I don’t have a good answer to that question.”
But ask Hunton, 72, a serious question about his life’s work and conversation comes easy for a 2008 inductee to the International Poultry Hall of Fame.
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Posted by FFC on July 21st, 2009 :: Filed under
Housing,
PoultryTags ::
animal welfare,
chicken,
eggs,
Farmers,
Housing,
meat,
Poultry
Source: CBC News
Last Updated: Thursday, March 13, 2008
Animal health experts are concerned about the spread of disease from backyard chicken flocks in British Columbia.
The risks associated with keeping poultry was a key topic for discussion at a seminar Wednesday in Abbotsford, hosted by the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
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Posted by FFC on July 21st, 2009 :: Filed under
Animal health,
Canada,
Education and public awareness,
PorkTags ::
backyard flocks,
eggs,
influenza,
Poultry
