Photo credit: WegmansCruelty.com

Scrambled, over-easy, fried, and mixed into baking, eggs are classic comfort foods. The industry claim that “only content animals are productive animals” seems logical enough, and with heavy security restrictions for battery cage facilities, few consumers understand how such staples materialize.

Starting from the premise that consumers have a right to know how their food is produced, animal advocates document what is hidden from view. Between the rows of stacked hens and over the piles of manure, they bear witness to what happens when economics intersect with animal welfare. Today, join us for a conversation with Ryan Merkley, Campaign Coordinator for Compassionate Consumers. He’ll tell us about the Wegmans’ Egg Farm investigation, including what they saw, what the industry reps say, and how the rescued hens recovered. Also, learn why one of the members was sentenced to six months in jail for his role in bringing a cruelty of unfathomable magnitude to light.

Wegmans Egg Farm facility, located in New York State, houses 750,000 egg-laying hens. According to Compassionate Consumers, the conditions there are representative of egg production throughout the United States.

But are these conditions similar to the Canadian egg industry? Bruce Passmore, the Farm Animal Welfare Project Coordinator with the Vancouver Humane Society, will provide an overview of Canadian egg production and share some insights on chicken sentience and consciousness.

Curious about the investigation? Watch the complete video “Wegmans Cruelty” here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6598954012979330894

To help out with Adam Durand’s legal defense fund, please click here: http://www.wegmanscruelty.com/

Listen right now:

or download an mp3 of the interview.