Canadian Consumers
Canadians don't raise laying hens, but they fund the industry that does. That makes purchasing decisions and support for stronger regulations two of the most direct ways consumers can influence how hens are housed.
Stance
There has been a growing trend among Canadians to source food that meets stronger ethical standards. While the many consumers associate better welfare with cage-free eggs, the majority of these same consumers base their decision around affordability, and will choose caged eggs for their lower price (Ochs et al., 2018) (Widmar et al., 2020) (Cao et al., 2021) (Bejaei et al., 2011). A subset of consumers will factor in animal welfare and are more willing to pay the for the increased price (Cao et al., 2021)(Bejaei et al., 2015), this can change after consumers learn more about welfare costs and benefits to each housing type (Ochs et al. 2019).
Preconceptions Around Animal Welfare
Cages
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Public opinion around caged housing systems is often poor.
Associations with cages
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​Cages are associated with being cramped and creating poor welfare conditions (Widmar et al., 2020)(Sonntag et al., 2019) . Common arguments as to why there is suffering revolve around:
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The inability to express natural behaviours
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Displays of abnormal, harmful behaviours that are attributed to unnatural living conditions.​​
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Battery vs Enriched
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​Most consumers don’t know the difference between battery or enriched cage systems. (Ochs et al,. 2018)(Rondoni et al,. 2020)
The word "cage"
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​When enriched housing system products have the word “cage” in their label, similar sentiments are assigned to both battery and enriched cages (Doyon et al., 2015) (Widmar et al., 2020). ​
Effect of education
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​Consumer education experiments show that attitudes towards enriched cage systems become more favourable after more is learned about the system (Nolan et al., 2022)(Rohlf et al., 2019).
Cage-Free
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Public opinions about cage-free systems are generally more positive.
Associations with cage-free
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Cage-free is associated with better animal welfare due to the perception that cage-free systems improve both physical health and expressions of natural behaviours (Ochs et al., 2018).
Engagement & awareness
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In contrast to the lack of awareness around enriched housing systems, “cage-free” or “free-range” eggs generate a lot more engagement in online spaces. This leads to more public discussions around the merits of cage-free (Widmar et al., 2020).
Notable Quotes
The following quotes were pulled from the comment section of an article by the CBC on the drawbacks of cage-free systems. They illustrate the diversity of perspectives held by Canadian consumers:
“Better to live free, than live in a cage. Yes the farmers may need to work harder to keep things clean but that is the way it should be if people must eat eggs.”
“Pecking and cannibalism only happens when the birds are too cramped. If they're given enough space to live, not just survive, they do not resort to t[h]ese behaviors.”
“Free-range hen eggs sell for $8 a dozen in the USA. Not many poor people will be able to afford to buy these eggs. Be careful what you wish for.”
“Farmers need the support they deserve to upgrade their old barns and farm land. I've seen many "free roam" barns in my days. Chickens don't stop pecking at each other just because they have more room to move around, I've seen it first hand.”