Wegmans Egg Farm
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. operates the largest egg farm in New York State, with over 700,000 hens housed on a single facility in the town of Wolcott.
For years, Wegmans has boasted of their dedication to animal
welfare1 and the lavish treatment of their
happy hens.
2
Indeed, each carton of Wegmans eggs bears an
official-looking seal of approval and
a personal note of reassurance from CEO Danny Wegman.
The investigation
In 2004, the consumer-advocacy group Compassionate Consumers documented conditions on the Wegmans Egg Farm that were radically different from the rosy pictures painted by company spokespeople. They widespread cruelty they uncovered is common to factory farms throughout the U.S. egg industry. Conditions include:
- Intensive confinement: Hens spend their lives crammed in barren wire cages, each confined to an area smaller than the bottom of a shoebox. Without enough room to walk or even stretch their wings, the hens chafe against the wire, suffering severe abrasions and feather loss. Others get tangled in the wire mesh and die of thirst.
- Profound neglect: Many hens were covered in feces and open sores. Living birds were found packed into cages with badly decomposed corpses. A few hens who managed to escape were found drowning in the liquid manure pits beneath the cages.
-
Mutilations.
Hens are normally docile creatures, but intensive confinement can
drive them to relentlessly peck each other. Wegmans, like many
other egg producers,
solves
this problem by burning off part of the hens' nerve-rich beaks. The procedure is typically performed without anaesthesia and causes life-long pain.5
Not surprisingly, these farming practices touted by Wegmans are considered so cruel that they've been banned in the 25 member states of the European Union, one of the world's largest egg-producing regions.
In 2004,
the Better Business Bureau ruled that the
“Animal Care Certified” logo used by Wegmans is
misleading to consumers and should be discontinued.
The ruling stated: It is unimaginable that consumers would consider
treatment they find 'unacceptable' to be humane treatment.
6
The Federal Trade Commission later forced Wegmans and other
egg producers to retire the logo permanently.
9
The Humane Society of the United States has urged Wegmans to phase out battery cages, noting that some of Wegmans' largest competitors have already stopped selling eggs produced in such facilities. 7 8
What you can do
UR-VEG petition drive
If huge national chains like Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplaces can stop selling eggs from battery-cage hens, why can't Wegmans? As a self-proclaimed industry leader, humane farming practices are one area where Wegmans can — and should — be leading the way.
UR-VEG is collecting signatures to convince Wegmans that the public does care about animal cruelty. Please add your signature to the list!
Egg alternatives
Unfortunately, all egg production involves cruelty. While cage-free farms are a significant improvement, they still require millions of male chicks (who are economically unviable) to be killed shortly after birth, and all laying hens are still slaughtered when their egg production declines. You can help prevent this unnecessary suffering by simply leaving eggs out of your shopping cart. It's easier than you might think!
Popular commercial substitutes are Ener-G Egg Replacer (sold at large markets like Wegmans) and Bob's Red Mill Vegetarian Egg Replacer, intended to replace the leavening/binding characteristics of eggs in baking. They can also be used for nonbaked foods and quiches. Other easy replacements for an egg:
- 2oz of soft tofu blended with water. Try the same quantity of mashed beans, mashed potatoes, or nut butters.
- 1/2 mashed banana
- 1/4 cup applesauce or pureed fruit
- 1 tbsp flax seeds (found in natural food stores) with 3 tbsp water
- 1 tsp soy flour with 1 tbsp water
For some great egg-free recipes, see these links for Egg-Free Products & Recipes, Scrambled "eggs", and Tofu Scramble.
References
-
Changing Concepts for Housing and Equipment.
A presentation at the Pacific Egg and Poultry Association Conference in Monterey, CA by John Gingerich, production manager, Egg Farm Division of Wegmans Food Markets. May 10, 2001. - Another Food to Feel Good About. A weekly column by Mary Ellen Burris, Wegmans Director of Consumer Affairs. Appeared in Wegmans circular and on the Wegmans website, June 8, 2003.
-
Correspondence from Wegmans Consumer Services Manager
Jo Natale to Farm Sanctuary. July 19, 1995. Quote:
Birds are perfectly happy in cages which allow 53 to 60 square inches of space per bird.
- Correspondence from Wegmans representative Barb Figenscher to Kristie Phelps of In Defense of Animals. 12 Apr 2005.
- "The Welfare of Poultry in Modern Production Systems," J. A. Mench. Poultry Science Reviews 4: p. 117.
- Better Business Bureau Nixes Egg Ads, Associated Press. May 10, 2004.
- Wild Oats and Whole Foods Sow Compassion with Cage-Free Egg Policies. An article by the Humane Society of The United States. June 3, 2005. (Note that each of these grocery chains have more retail stores than Wegmans: 75 for Wild Oats, 170 for Whole Foods; 69 for Wegmans. If these huge corporations can change, why can't Wegmans?)
- Humane Society of the United States Petitions Wegmans to Go Cage Free. A letter from HSUS president Wayne Pacelle to Wegmans. July 21, 2005.
- "BBB Division Gets FTC Backing Vs. Egg Marketers." Jim Edwards. Brandweek, October 6, 2005.
