Bad Egg?

When Anna and I go out shopping, we always purchase either barn-laid eggs or free range. We know they cost more than eggs from battery hens, but we feel that we cannot condone the suffering that battery hens go through to give us eggs.

It's not that we're PETA-loving vegetarians. On the contrary, we are both omnivorous and love eating meat. This means, of course, that we're fine about animals being bred for consumption. I don't want animals to suffer, however, in the lead-up to being slaughtered.

In the ACT, the RSPCA is lobbying territory ministers to ban battery hens and Tasmania is also considering it. There's no doubt that this would result in higher egg prices, lower egg production and less money to egg farmers, but, along with some level of government compensation to producers, any changes should be easily accepted by the population at large.

I would also like it if other forms of animal suffering could be lessened through legislation. Again, I'm a meat-eater but I'm happy to pay more for and/or eat less of meat and dairy products if it means that the animals that God gave us stewardship over can live happy lives before being killed and eaten by us.