Did CCSC fowl up my great eggspectations or did they rise above the coup? 

 

Be it resolved: no more inhumane eggs in John Jay.  While the council tabled discussion on other socially conscious dining issues, the campaign for cage-free fowl in Columbia took a major step forward now that the official representative body of the college decided that no $8-10 dollar increase in discretionary meal plans should stop John Jay, Wien, Ferris and others from upholding their moral obligation to protect hens across the world.

Stay tuned for a report from Senior Executive Vice President Robert Kasdin on M-ville next week.

– JJV 

Full text of the resolution after the jump.

Certified Humane Cage-Free Eggs Resolution

Whereas, the Columbia College Student Council acknowledges the need to promote humane and socially conscious policies whenever possible,

Whereas, eggs currently sold in Columbia Dining services establishments come from factory farmed hens forced to live in overcrowded, poorly lit, barren cages no more than 16 inches wide, meaning that in her entire life a hen is not able to even spread her wings (1),

Whereas, due to such tight confinement, the hens are constantly rubbing against these wires and are often featherless and covered with bruises and abrasions,

Whereas, most hens in these conditions suffer calcium depletion and cannot be used to produce eggs for more than a year; after which, they are sent to the slaughterhouse to produce low-grade chicken products since their meat quality is so poor,

Whereas, our distributor, Sysco, has cage-free systems that meet Certified Humane (2) standards—the most stringent available—in which hens are able to walk and spread their wings, are provided perches and pools in which to dust bathe, and are provided regular health inspections thereby significantly improving their quality of life,

Whereas, several European countries have entirely banned the use of battery cages and the European Union plans to phase out cage-produced eggs by 2012 due to animal welfare (3),

Whereas, more than 150 colleges and universities have switched completely or partially to the use of cage-free eggs, which has reduced the suffering of tens of thousands of hens (4),

Whereas, the student council understands this to be an opportunity to extend the University’s commitment to social responsibility by supporting and encouraging the growing market for humanely produced eggs,

Be it resolved, that the Columbia College Student Council calls for Dining Services to order cage-free eggs from its suppliers for all on-campus dining establishments.

Authors,


Alidad Damooei Sara Partridge

Vice President of Policy Class Representative

CCSC Class of 2011

1 FactoryFarming.com: Factory Egg Production. Access Farm Sanctuary Research Report, “The Welfare of Hens in Battery Cages”

http://www.factoryfarming.com/eggs.htm (20 October 2007).

2 Compassion Action for Animals. FAQ About Cage Free Eggs. http://www.exploreveg.org/feat/cagefree/cage-free-faqs (21 October 2007).

3 The Humane Society of the United States, ‘No Battery Eggs’ Campaign Exposes the Hard-Boiled Truth about Laying Hens.

http://www.hsus.org/farm/camp/nbe/ (21 October 2007).

4 The Humane Society of the United States, Cage-Free Egg Production vs. Battery-Cage Egg Production. http://www.hsus.org/farm/camp/nbe/ (21 October 2007).