The Washington Post’s The Influence Industry column writes about a new lobbying group charged with stopping provisions in the 2012 farm bill to make the egg biz a teeny bit more tolerable (for the birds not the eggs companies).
This follows last year’s agreement between the the Humane Society and the United Egg Producers, reached after years of enmity, on measures that would (in our humble opinion) only incrementally (at best) improve the lives of the poor hens. [Apparently, they’ll get inches more and their cages might be a bit cleaner. Trust us, it’s still super-nasty.]
According to the column’s author, Dan Eggden (that’s just a funny coincidence, no?), it may well be that the new group, the Egg Farmers of America, is actually run by the people behind the meat people’s message (think National Pork Producers Council, International Dairy Foods Ass’n.). As Dan notes, it sure seems that this new group actually serves “to provide cover for the meat industry.”
In other words, to divert attention away from the meat horror, smart lobbyists gin up opposition to egg issues when really, there is no issue and they could care less.
Geez. These guys have outdone themselves this time. Bad eggs indeed.