In Defense of Animals warns against eating sick birds or their eggs
In Defense of Animals (IDA) said today that the salmonella outbreak requiring the recall of close to 400 million eggs is not an isolated incident, and demonstrates the danger of consuming animal products produced in factory farms. Since January, there have been dozens of recalls by the USDA of animal products, including such varied items as beef stew and chicken pot pie.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has seen a four-fold increase in reported cases of *Salmonella* *Enteritidis* in the past three months, amounting to more than 800 cases of this potentially deadly disease every month. These figures don’t include an unknown number of sickened individuals who failed to report their illness.
Hens in intensive agriculture are forced to live a miserable, frustrated existence crammed into tiny battery cages, where they are unable to walk or spread their wings. They live covered in feces, often forced to share cages with the bodies of deceased neighbors.
These unnatural conditions produce sick birds, which increases the likelihood of infected eggs. The birds are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics in an unsuccessful attempt to stave off constant sickness. With tens of thousands of birds stacked in cages on top of one another, dropping waste into the cages below, contamination is common.
“If the suffering of billions of animals each year isn’t enough to make people rethink their diet, maybe this alarming outbreak will sway people to stop consuming animal products,” said Scotlund Haisley, President of IDA.
“The workers in egg factories wear hazmat-like suits complete with respirators and thick rubber gloves. Who wants to eat anything that comes from a place where you have to wear full body armor just to walk through the door,” said Hope Bohanec, IDA’s Grassroots Campaigns Director.
The 400 million eggs involved in the current recall were sold under 13 different brands across the United States, including some with names that imply they were “humanely” produced. The recall can be traced to one producer, Wright County Egg, of Galt, Iowa, They have been the target of government regulators for environmental violations, unsafe working conditions, and the harassment of workers, according to the New York Times.
For more information, please visit: www.indefenseofanimals.org.
