Readers React: Cage-free is better for hens and humans

To the editor: This holiday season I’m grateful to the Times’ editorial board speaking up for animals and weighing in on the measure to give chickens more space on California farms. (“California’s egg-laying hens to get their breathing room,” Editorial, Dec. 26)

Six years ago, California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 2, which not only grants egg-laying hens a better, cage-free life (rather than being crammed into tiny cages where they can’t even turn around), it also grants Californian egg consumers a better life.

Eggs from cage-free hens are known to have lower rates of salmonella than their caged counterparts.

Sadly, grocery chains, restaurant chains and farmers have been defying the will of the people and have been dragging their feet since 2008 to implement the law. As they say, the customer is always right, and if these businesses and producers want to please their customers, they ought to go cage-free.

Nora Kramer, Los Angeles

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