As I become more of an adult, I try to be more conscious of all of the things I put into and on my body. After all, what you do now affects you over the course of your life. As I always say, be conscious and actively aware of what you are buying into and the systems you are supporting by your purchase. Not many of us think of the labor systems or atrocious animal abuse we may be encouraging with the products we buy. A couple years ago, I came across this video by Erin Janus on the egg industry, and I recall it being mind blowing. So, I have decided to rewatch it and include all the important lessons I learned. Janus is a vegan journalist, writer, video producer, and animal rights activist. She produces factual videos with content that comes from credible sources. I highly suggest you take a look at some of her other videos on YouTube.
1. Some people really believe that hens are supposed to produce more than one egg a month.
This was just mind blowing to me. Hens, like all mammals, have a reproductive system that menstruates once a month. Just like your wives, daughters, and sisters, they should only be doing so twelve times a year. The only exception here is chickens lay eggs, whereas women... well you get the point. I have debated with many people about this, and it's quite sad to see how this industry has convinced us that this is natural. It's not - it's called hormones that they shoot up into the poor hens.
2. Hens suffer from fatty liver disease, cage layer fatigue, and hyperactive premature aging ovarian systems from being overworked.
And we think this is OK? Liver disease occurs when liver cells are worked overtime to produce fat and protein required for egg shell production. Cage layer fatigue is when the hen is too weak or fragile to stand. When a hen is too weak to pass another egg she is referred to as "egg bound," where you will see ruptures or eggs lodged in the oviduct. All of these conditions are very common in the egg industry but to think we put poor animals through that on a daily basis? What has our world come to?
3. There is no such thing as a "better egg," so stop arguing it.
Cage-free and free-range are fancied words to gain health-conscious buyers' interest. 20,000 hens kept in one shed still counts as "free-range" if the industry has shown that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside, which includes one small opening. These companies are allowed to print images of happy hens and green pastures onto egg cartons even if the hens are living in dangerous conditions. It's called false advertising people.
4. The fact that hens are starved and crammed together in cages all to get the "biggest bang for their buck" is quite sickening.
Taking away food and water from chickens, also known as forced molting, is a common practice in this industry. It is suggested to starve them for as little as five days, and as long as fourteen days, in order to put their bodies into shock and cause mass production of eggs. These companies are literally treating the hens as property and not living beings. It is sad to think this is a common practice in our nation.
There are so many more disturbing things discussed in this video that I highly suggest you watch if you get the chance. This realization made me reevaluate my lifestyle and food choices. I realized that by consuming and buying into these products for the last eighteen years I have supported an industry solely focused on mass production and any means it took to get that. Mass production is convenient and present in our daily lives, but it is not natural or considerate of our well-being in the long run. There are industries of overworked labor, abuse, and much more that we support by buying into them. Now I'm not saying that you should cut everything out at once because, let's be honest, that never works. I'm asking you to just be a conscious consumer, which means to think about what you're buying. Maybe start with reducing the number of eggs you consume in a week and work your way up from there if you can. If anything, I hope that this video opens up your eyes to the advertisements and misconceptions we are faced with daily.
