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Egg industry supports ‘choice’ in egg production

Egg industry spokespersons say they support McDonald’s move to 100 percent cage-free eggs as a matter of “choice”.

Chad Gregory, CEO of United Egg Producers (UEP), says his organization supports “customer and consumer choice” in the types of eggs they buy.

“Recognizing that customers place value on having choices in the type of eggs they purchase, hens today are raised by our farmer members using a variety of housing and egg production practices,” Gregory said in a statement.

Randy Olson, executive director of the Iowa Egg Council, echoed Gregory’s remarks.

“Thankfully, we live in a world of free choice and McDonald’s has made a choice—and our egg farms that supply McDonald’s will no doubt meet their needs,” Olson says.

“The good news is that Iowa egg farms, and egg farms across the country, have long been committed to the health and well-being of their hens in a variety of systems—cage and cage-free,” Olson says. “So consumers can be assured that, no matter how their eggs are produced, their farmers are taking good care of their hens.”

AUDIO: Randy Olson