Christians urged to buy free range chicken, help end battery farming
Posted: Saturday, January 12, 2008, 7:24 (GMT)
A European Commission refusal to delay a ban on battery cages has been welcomed by the Christian Peoples Alliance party, which is urging Christians to begin changing their buying habits by choosing free range poultry.
A Commission report says the ban on keeping laying hens in tiny cages should come into effect in 2012 as planned, despite calls from farmers for more time to prepare.
Spokeswoman for the CPA, Sue May said: "If anything, 2012 is still a long-time to wait for an end to the appalling cruelty of battery farming. Any delay would have been an outrage to human decency.
"Now the facts are getting known, it would be great if Christians everywhere took a lead in buying more ethically and choosing free-range chickens and eggs. Collectively, we could make a huge difference.
"The Bible is emphatically on the side of animal welfare and the requirement to show respect towards all of God's creation."
According to official figures, 62 per cent of the UK's 29 million laying hens are kept in battery cages, while 34 per cent are free range and 4 per cent are kept in barn systems.
Across 27 EU countries, an estimated 200 million hens are kept in cages which confine them to a space barely big enough to turn around.
They cannot spread their wings, peck, scratch or perch.
Ms May added: "Channel Four's Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are doing a public service in highlighting the appalling conditions in which chickens are intensively raised. Consumers cannot say they didn't know. "
Marks & Spencer and Waitrose have already stopped selling eggs from
caged hens, and Sainsbury's, Morrisons and the Co-op have announced
plans to phase out the sale of battery eggs.
The comments below are readers' personal opinions and are in no way intended to reflect the editorial opinion of Christian Today.
Added: Thursday, June 19, 2008, 10:34 (BST)
I was browsing the web on battery farming and was so pleased to see that Christians were being urged to buy only Free Range Eggs because of the cruelty. I visited one once and found myself in hell. The horror has never left me and I can assure anyone, as a first-hand witness, that unspeakable misery and cruelty goes on. No Christian should ever buy "caged" eggs.
I cannot understand Mike from Ivybridge's comment about the battery system being better! He should be ashamed of himself and I am sorry that his was the only comment posted. May we do all we can to see this appalling system banned in 2012, which is really far too long to wait. It should have been banned 2006 and was overthrown by men like Bernard Mathews. Truly the Bible is right when it says, "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." Let us not be a part of that evil.
Beth Long, Hucknall
Added: Saturday, January 12, 2008, 21:43 (GMT)
I have worked on a battery farm where the chickens were well looked after and had adequate space. Because of the planned nutrition their eggs were of higher quality than free range which would also indicate that the birds were in better condition that free range birds. Battery eggs are also much cheaper. So if the birds are not ill-treated, and they produce better and cheaper eggs, it would seem to me that God's teaching on good stewardship is more suitably observed by battery farming.
mike, ivybridge
