The majority of the U.S. egg supply will become cage-free within a decade, but the egg industry says the economics don’t make sense. “The ability for the industry to do this conversion is truly subject to the demand for cage-free eggs from the consumer,” said Jeff Coit, a poultry industry specialist at Farm Credit Services of America. “Today, we’re not there. The vast majority of consumers are still buying the cheaper eggs on the shelf.”
Source: BuzzFeed News, March 21, 2017.
The egg industry estimates it could cost at least $6 billion to build enough cage-free housing to satisfy commitments made by retailers, restaurants, and food service providers over the next decade.