Petition for ethical eggs in Costcutter

A movement from the Animal Ethics Society to make the University’s Costcutter sell only free-range eggs has introduced a petition for students.

By asking students to sign the petition, the group hoped that Costcutter will follow other Warwick food outlets in using only free range eggs.

Alice Tahi, a leader of the group, said that the amount of people signing the petition shows “that Warwick University and its students don’t agree with unethical treatment of hens”. She was aware, however, that Warwick still had a way to go, with the “people and planet society in York successfully getting their Costcutter to stop selling caged and barn eggs”.

Jodie Marsden, first-year English Literature and Theatre undergraduate, said that she signed the petition because she considers chickens kept in cages as “chicken slavery.”

“I want eggs from happy chickens,” she said.

Her attitude reflects an increasing awareness of society and of the student body on the ethics of caged hens. The Daily Mail reported in February that “last year 51 percent of the nine billion eggs laid in the UK came from barn, free-range or organic farm hens”, whereas in 1995, “86 percent came from battery cages”.

Harry Haslam, first-year History undergraduate who signed the petition could understand why people, particularly students, might choose to buy eggs from caged hens.

“We are all students, and sometimes we don’t think about it,” he said. “We just see the price.”

The Animal Ethics Society stressed that the increased cost of free range eggs was minimal, and that ensuring hens were treated humanely was more important.

The online petition can be found here.