When California and Massachusetts enacted laws requiring that eggs produced and sold there be raised cage-free, 13 states including some of the nation’s largest egg producers sued, saying the laws violated the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. Conventional egg producers outside those states fear that as more egg-importing states enact such laws, they too will be required to go cage-free, costing them about $40 a bird to convert their facilities. Iowa’s move to protect conventional egg producers was supported by the industry — Klippen said farmers in other states may consider pushing similar legislation. “These cage-free eggs were available in the grocery store, and, at the time, less than 10 percent of market share was cage-free. At the same time, some egg producers have paused plans to expand cage-free production because their products weren’t being grabbed off store shelves.

Source: Huffington Post April 23, 2018 17:48 UTC