Why States Are Pausing Cage-Free Mandates During Bird Flu Crisis

As the United States continues a protracted battle with highly pathogenic avian influenza—or bird flu—that has sent egg prices soaring, some states are temporarily rolling back laws governing how egg-laying hens are housed.

Eight states currently have laws or have passed laws that will soon become effective, requiring all eggs sold in the state to come from cage-free hens.

Cage-free measures, boosted by animal welfare activists who say keeping hens in cages is cruel, are designed to give birds a better quality of life.

However, critics say that over the past decade, egg farmers have spent more than $11 billion converting operations to supply a product that costs them more to produce, but isn’t necessarily in demand from the average consumer.

For most of the history of the U.S. egg industry, egg-laying hens—known as layers—have been raised in so-called battery cages. In this setup, hens live their productive lives in a cage where they receive food and water. They remain in the cage until they can no longer lay eggs. Typically, once a hen can no longer lay eggs, it is processed for meat or protein products.

The report, based on research conducted between 2006 and 2008, recommended ending long-term confinement for layers and other American agricultural animals. In a statement, the Pew Commission said classic measures of animal welfare based on freedom from disease and maintenance of productivity were not sufficient to ensure the actual well-being of farm animals.

In response to that report and growing pressure from animal welfare groups, the egg industry began to transition some of its flocks to a cage-free setup.

Cages deny hens the ability to express “many natural behaviors” that are important for their welfare, said Kate Brindle, program manager of public and corporate policy for farm animal protection with Humane World for Animals.

The group, known for much of its history as the Humane Society of the United States, is a leading advocate for ending animal confinement.

Premium Picks

“Over the past 15 years, Humane World for Animals and our allies have led successful campaigns to prohibit the cruel caging of hens,” Brindle told The Epoch Times.

The cage-free format utilizes a different type of structure that allows birds to roam, perch, flap their wings, and access a substrate on the floor known as litter. In some cage-free housing systems, birds roost overnight in structures similar to battery cages with the front removed; while eggs are laid in so-called nest boxes.

According to USDA data, in 2012, only 28.3 million cage-free hens were in the field.

The size of the cage-free egg flock has grown exponentially since that time.

The first was a pledge in 2015 by breakfast giant McDonald’s Corp. to use only cage-free eggs by 2026. The announcement sent shockwaves through the global food industry and inspired numerous similar commitments at major retailers, restaurants, and foodservice providers.

At least 200 of the largest food service and retail companies in the United States, including giants such as Unilever, General Mills Inc., Aramark, and Sodexo, have made cage-free supply pledges, too, Brindle said. Many of those pledges are maturing in 2026.

The second catalyst was the approval by Massachusetts voters in 2016 of a measure that banned battery cages and the sale of eggs laid in battery cages in the Bay State. The law took effect in 2022.

Since then, Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington have followed suit by passing similar laws banning the sale of conventionally produced eggs. Those laws are either already in effect or will come into effect by 2027. In addition, Rhode Island and Utah will start prohibiting the use of cages in 2030.

The American Egg Board, a nonprofit organization that promotes the sale and consumption of eggs in the United States, estimated that those 10 states consume about 25 billion eggs annually. The board is checkoff financed, meaning that its funding comes from a levy on members’ egg production.

In a statement the group shared with The Epoch Times, Chad Gregory, president and CEO of  United Egg Producers, said the American egg industry has invested more than $11 billion of its own money to expand the supply of cage-free eggs “in response to state legislation and customer pledges.”

Gregory said those costs include retrofitting conventional housing, building new housing, purchasing new equipment, hiring the additional labor necessary to run cage-free systems, and multiple other novel expenses.

“While the (bird flu) crisis and other factors have caused some customers to delay cage-free pledges (and some state laws have been paused), others remain in place, and we have to assume they will be effective at some point,” Gregory said in a statement. “Consumers value choices in the egg case, and U.S. egg producers stand ready to supply cage-free eggs where needed.”

Higher Cost

Cage-free eggs are generally more expensive for consumers than conventionally produced eggs.

For the week of April 12–18, the national average for a dozen conventionally raised, large white eggs was $3.93, according to USDA data. Meanwhile, the national average was $4.99 for a dozen non-organic medium cage-free eggs.

Organic eggs—which are by definition cage-free but have widely different housing and feeding standards than conventionally raised and non-organic cage-free eggs—were more expensive, topping out at $9.69 for a dozen organic, pasture raised brown eggs.

While the USDA average may reflect lower prices at warehouse stores such as Costco or Sam’s Club, or grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s, which has a reputation for consistently low egg prices, individual grocery store experiences across the country tend to vary widely.

On April 21, at a Kroger supermarket in South Bend, Indiana, a dozen conventionally raised eggs sold for $4.99, while a dozen cage-free, non-organic eggs sold for $5.69.

At Albertson’s Market in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a dozen conventionally raised eggs was selling for $4.99, while a dozen cage-free eggs was $6.99.

And at Giant Foods in the nation’s capital, store brand conventionally raised eggs were priced at $6.19, while cage-free, non-organic eggs sold for $6.79.

However, at Hyvee in Estherville, Iowa, store-brand cage-free brown eggs sold for $3.69 a dozen, while conventionally raised eggs were more expensive at $5.39.

Construction or conversion, labor, and feed costs are two to three times higher on a cage-free farm than on a poultry operation with battery cages, the study found.

Moreover, the study said the cage-free system introduces costly new health risks—including higher susceptibility to bird flu—because of “increased contact of the birds with feces and other birds in a cage-free environment.”

The producers surveyed for the report, however, gave varying responses about the mortality rates across the two production systems. Some suggested that more chickens died on cage-free farms, blaming contact with fecal material, cannibalistic and aggressive behavior encouraged by crowded conditions.

On cage-free farms, the study said, farmers are also more likely to lose eggs because the birds may lay them outside of nesting boxes, allowing them to  become contaminated or cracked.

Lower Demand

It is difficult to sell cage-free eggs when consumers have a choice to purchase eggs laid by hens in caged poultry operations, the study said.

Although there is demand for cage-free eggs, purchases are driven largely not by consumer choice but by state-wide regulations requiring their sale, or animal-welfare-based pledges signed by major retailers and food service providers.

While people may voice support for additional animal welfare in opinion polls, or even vote for stronger animal welfare laws, the study said “when it comes time to purchase eggs, consumers continue to buy the cheaper, conventional option when available.”

The Poultry Science report was produced by a team of researchers led by Vincenzina Caputo, associate professor at Michigan State University’s Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics. The researchers surveyed numerous anonymous egg producers. The farmers told Caputo and her colleagues they were “highly skeptical” that the egg industry could provide enough cage-free eggs to satisfy forthcoming demand.

In addition, producers said they are afraid of a sudden shift away from cage-free eggs if buyers renege on their welfare commitments or if welfare laws are repealed.

“As the country pivots toward a higher cost, lower efficiency system with a higher environmental footprint, producers emphasize caution in implementing mandates and pledges,” the study said.

Regulation Pauses

While much attention is given to recent spikes in egg prices, the price of a dozen eggs has steadily risen over the past five years.

By February 2025, the average price of eggs had risen to $5.89 a dozen.

Given that gradual rise in egg prices, followed by a price spike driven by bird flu outbreaks and depopulation events, a number of states are mulling whether to pause or repeal their existing laws on cage-free eggs.

“Eggs are typically the most cost-effective protein source for food insecure populations,” Nevada Department of Agriculture director J.J. Goicoechea said in February. “When families can’t find eggs on the shelf, and when they do the prices are not attainable, this can leave them without an essential food they depend on.”

Republican lawmakers in the state legislatures of both Colorado and Michigan have introduced measures to roll back cage-free laws in their states, as well. Both states enacted their cage bans at the beginning of 2025.

“This is a commonsense solution to help Michigan farmers recover while making it easier for families to afford a basic staple,” Theis said.