What we buy when we buy eggs.

How would you like living in 67 square inches of space?

The following contains graphic footage of animal cruelty and is not appropriate for children:

The Humane Society of the United States filmed this footage during an undercover investigation of Kreider Farms in Pennsylvania. In case you opted not to watch the video, here’s a little bit of what they found:

>Birds were severely overcrowded in cages more cramped than the national average; each hen received only 54–58 square inches of space on which to spend her life.

>Injured and dead hens, including mummified bird carcasses, were found inside cages with living hens laying eggs for human consumption.

>Hens were left without water for days when a water source malfunctioned, causing many to die.

>Hens’ legs, wings, and heads were found trapped in cage wires and automated feeding machinery.

>A thick layer of dead flies on the barn floors caused a crunching sound when walking on it.

More and more communities have backyard farmers with at least a few chickens. Most grocery stores have several options for free-range and organic eggs, if not local ones. If you choose to eat eggs, please choose not to buy them from a factory farm.