Since the passage of California's Proposition 2 - The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act - in 2008, animal advocates have worried that its ban on battery-cage egg production could be undermined by importing battery-cage eggs from other states. Thanks to the California state legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger, however, that will not be possible. On Tuesday, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill that requires all shelled (whole) eggs sold in California to come from hens able to stand up, fully extend their limbs, lie down and spread their wings without touching each other or the sides of their enclosures. This effectively requires cage-free conditions. The new law takes effect on January 1, 2015 - the same time that Proposition 2 takes effect.The bill - A.B. 1437 - passed the California State Assembly by a vote of 65 to 9 and the Senate by a vote of 23 to 7. Assemblymember Jared Huffman coauthored the bill and spearheaded its passage in the Assembly, and Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez managed the bill in the Senate.
Proposition 2 passed in a landslide, with more votes than any citizen initiative in California history. MFA played an instrumental role in its passage, drawing further media attention to the debate with the release of two undercover investigations into California battery-cage egg farms - Gemperle Enterprises and Norco Ranch. Californians made it clear in 2008 that they were in favor of reducing farmed animal suffering and affording them modest animal welfare standards. In signing A.B. 1437, Governor Schwarzenegger has not only taken important action to protect animal welfare and food safety, but has honored the intent California voters when they passed Proposition 2.
While Proposition 2 and A.B. 1437 are great strides in the right direction, cage-free doesn't mean cruelty-free. "Cage-free" hens are subjected to many of the same abuses as caged hens, such as crowding by the thousands in filthy sheds and painful beak amputations without anesthesia. The only truly cruelty-free diet is a vegan diet, totally free of eggs
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