European citizens are calling to stop cage farming

European citizens are calling to stop caged animals farming in the EU, and they managed to gather almost 1.4 million signatures in two and a half years across the EU. This initiative is called “End the Cage Age”, and it is a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) which has recently led the European Parliament to debate the caged animals issue. The ECI is also supported by several large industry players, such as Ferrero, Unilever, and Nestlé.  

Although the elimination of cages can be a first step towards a better living conditions for the animals, it is not enough to solve the problem of overcrowding, typical of farm factories. Farm factories are not just an ethical problem. Huge amounts of animals grouped in a small space bring several problems: from animal welfare to the use of antibiotics and pesticides.  

With more sustainable practices, such as free-range or free-arrowing farming, the use of antibiotics and pesticides could be reduced. It might be possible to avoid events such as egg fipronil contamination, which struck the EU four years ago. The safety of the animal products that we eat passes through several steps. One of them is surely the animal’s welfare, which would allow producers to use fewer treatments and therefore to reduce the possibility that food products could be contaminated by antibiotics and pesticides.      


Source:  

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20210407IPR01519/banning-caged-farming-in-the-eu-hearing-on-the-european-citizens-initiative  

https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/agri-peti_20210415-0900-COMMITTEE-AGRI_vd