1 September, 2011
Once again British farmers will be squeezed as Britain implements tighter welfare standards while other countries fail to do so.
UK farmers, who are on course to comply with EU-imposed welfare improvements, fear cheap imports from countries where the directive is ignored.
Hundreds of poultry farmers across Europe with millions of egg-laying hens are expected to flout a ban on conventional battery cages next year.
The new regulations are designed to eradicate the practice and dramatically enhance animal welfare.
via Hundreds of European farmers expected to flout battery hen ban | Environment | The Guardian.
Britain, along with 10 other countries, will be compliant with the new EU regulations when they come into force on 1 January 2012.
The change has been made at considerable cost to farmers, with the Guardian reporting on a typical example: a medium-sized poultry farm that’s spent £2 million upgrading its facilities to the new standard.
The NFU says the industry as a whole has spent £400 million to meet the new requirements, or £25 per bird.
The expenditure will feed through to the price of eggs, pushing up the cost of eggs produced in the UK.
But not all EU countries are going to be compliant with the regulations, which means eggs from non-compliant farms will be cheaper than British-produced eggs.
Of course, the British consumer will talk long and loud about the need for improved health and welfare standards for poultry, just as they do about pigs and other livestock, but will they actually buy the more expensive British eggs? Or will they just buy whatever’s cheapest when they’re the shop?
I know which it will be. After all, we’ve largely stopped selling our free-range eggs because customers demand prices equal to or less than the price of battery eggs.
The overwhelming majority of consumers want high welfare, extensive and local produce on the shelves, but they don’t want it in their shopping baskets if there’s something cheaper.
And if it’s cheap, they’ll turn a blind eye to any amount of nastiness.
So true….unfortunately.
Sue xx
It baffles me that they bring in these rules for locally-produced eggs, but still allow imports from producers who don’t adhere to them. That doesn’t fix animal welfare, it just exports the cruelty!
I don’t believe Canada is taking this road. Battery hens are the norm. When I was asked how much I’d be selling my extra eggs for, I said $3.00 a dozen. Locally, that price will get you large brown eggs at the store (about $2.89 a dozen), but it won’t get the ‘organic’ or free-range. The price for those at the grocery store is about $5.00 a dozen.
A few people said that was a fair price, but one said that a woman they buy for sells for $2.00 a dozen and the eggs are large to extra large. In other words, they won’t buy from me.
Cruelty to animals only matters to people on one level. Price matters on all levels.
I pay about $3 – $3.50 for local free range eggs here in northern Minnesota. Seems average for our area. I’ve never even checked in a grocery — I don’t think they sell those here in a regular store although our local co-op does for about $3.50. Definitely worth the price.
I suspect that right now German farmers are getting as annoyed as you: it’s a common complaint in Germany that they are the ‘only’ ones who follow the rules -and a lot harder to police incoming eggs.
I’m also a bit cynical about these laws, and how much they are motivated by animal welfare, or helping bigger producers (with lobbying budgets) squeeze out the competition.
We try and buy free range eggs but our grocery bill is on the limit as it is. Hopefully we will soon be able to keep hens on our own land, but that’ll require some work on the fencing so they don’t eat the neighbours vegetables…
Our government(s) here in Australia impose the same sorts of rules and restrictions on producers, with the same costly results for the average businessman. While the customer wants and buys whatever is cheapest (and then bemoans the lack of quality in much of the foreign goods).
Right now it is not just food that is in the hot seat, it is manufacturing and producing that is being hit very hard in all sorts of businesses and products.
people whinge about paying 4-5 dollers for a dozen healthy eggs but quite happily pay twice as much for something discusting from mandonalds