Choice has just announced that the Australian Egg Corporation is the recipient of one of its Shonky Awards this year due to the industry giant’s inadequate scheme for free range egg production.

This award was conferred on the AEC, which represents 90% of producers nationwide, on the basis of a report issued by the consumer watchdog earlier this year, which found that many of the AEC’s ‘Egg Corp Assured’ free-range producers keep their hens in sheds so vast that many of them will never find their way outdoors. While inside such sheds, hens can be packed in at a rate of up to 14 per square metre - barely less than the 18 per square metre permitted in cage systems. They can also be subjected to the immensely painful process of beak trimming. All this is a far cry from the idyllic scenes depicted on many free range egg cartons which show ‘happy chickens’ wandering freely through wide green, sunny spaces.

The findings which underpin this award confirm the point made by Voiceless in its 2007 report, ‘From Label to Liable’, which is that the current scheme for labelling of animal-based food products is largely failing consumers. Australia needs a system of mandatory labelling of animal-derived food products to prevent companies from continuing to exploit consumer concern about animal protection to increase profit while in reality affording animals little or no improvement in treatment and living conditions. In addition to the controversy over some free-range products, ambiguously worded food labels such as ‘farm fresh’ or ‘naturally perfect’ reinforce the likelihood of consumers being misled as to the true origin of many factory-farmed products.

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