Colorado goes cage-free for eggs, joining trend in other states
Tori Richards
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Colorado will be joining a handful of states in allowing only sales of cage-free eggs on Jan. 1, but with this new mandate comes some hefty prices.
California’s prices have more than doubled since voters passed a referendum in 2018 to outlaw cages. The average cost of eggs in the state is now pushing $5 a dozen. A dozen eggs in Colorado is currently $1.50 less.
Other states with cage-free laws on the books or pending include Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Nevada, Utah, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
Creating a cage-free atmosphere is costly for farmers, who must include “enrichments such as scratch areas, perches, nest boxes, and dust bathing, cage-free housing [which] allows hens to exhibit their natural behaviors,” said Julie Mizak, egg program manager at the Colorado Department of Agriculture.
Other requirements include utilizing enclosures that are at least 1 square foot per hen and allow workers to stand upright in the space. The chickens must be free roaming within their enclosures. Farmers who have fewer than 3,000 hens are exempt from the new guidelines.
The state will give farmers and stores a two-year grace period before levying fines that could be up to $1,000.
EGG PRICES SOAR 47% IN LATEST INFLATION WOE
“This is yet another striking victory in our campaign to eradicate cruel cage confinement for farm animals,” said Kitty Block, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States.
Residents concerned about inflation will undoubtedly see a price increase that has been spurred on by other factors as well.
“In the case of eggs, you have rapidly increasing market prices of corn or whatever it is that they eat, and that drives up the cost of feeding the chicken, which drives up the price of eggs, which drives up prices for American consumers,” Isabella Weber, an economist at UMass Amherst told Vox.
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Prices for all food items have risen 10.9% in the 12 months ending in October, according to the consumer price index.