1. It takes approximately 34 hours for a hen to produce an egg.
2. So to keep up with demand, 346 million hens are used by the U.S. egg industry every year.
3. Their lives are two years of misery, starting right when they are born.
4. Chicks are born in large incubators such as these.
5. They will never see their mothers.
6. Shortly after birth, the males and females are separated.
7. The females head to a life in the egg industry …
8. … and the males are either tossed into trash bags to suffocate …
9. … or ground up alive.
More than 100 million male chicks are killed by the egg industry every year.
10. The female chicks have the ends of their beaks cut off with a hot blade.
This is done so that they don’t hurt each other out of frustration during their intense confinement.
11. Five to 11 hens are crammed into tiny wire “battery” cages.
On average, each hen has living space that is smaller than the dimensions of a piece of paper.
12. The cages are often stacked on top of one another …
13. … which allows urine and feces to fall down onto birds in the lower cages.
These large piles of feces below the cages are common on some egg farms.
14. Because of the terrible living conditions, chickens often die in their cages.
15. They are sometimes left to rot in the same space with living birds.
16. After about two years, those who have survived are sent to slaughter.
17. At the slaughterhouse, laying hens meet the same bloody end as that of chickens raised for their meat.
18. They are shackled and hung upside down …
19. … they are electrocuted …
20. … their throats are cut …
21. … and they are scalded to death.
HOW CAN YOU HELP CHICKENS?
Even chickens on “cage-free” farms suffer. Chickens are smart, social, and sensitive animals. They don’t deserve to suffer for that egg sandwich. The most important thing that you can do to help chickens is to avoid eating them and their eggs.
When cooking:
Try a delicious and easy tofu scramble instead of scrambled eggs!
When baking:
Baking without eggs is SO easy. There are lots of fun ways to bake with your favorite boxed cake mixes using alternatives such as applesauce, pumpkin, and even a can of soda as a delicious replacement for eggs! You can also buy boxed egg replacer or VeganEgg from many grocery stores.
For the holidays:
For Easter, try EggNots! They look and feel the same as real eggs and are dyeable, too! An added bonus is that your beautiful Easter creations will last forever.
NOW THAT YOU KNOW, WILL YOU STILL LOOK AT A CARTON OF EGGS THE SAME WAY?
Share this with your friends to let them know the truth behind the egg industry!
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