Battery eggs sale and production in the ACT
Research report
This report was released in November 1998 and it examines the effectiveness of the ACT legislation banning of the production, sale of battery eggs and requiring specific labelling of eggs for the welfare of the consumers and the public.
The report's objectives are to assess the advantages and disadvantages for hen welfare cage system, the impact on producers and the ACT community, and the administration, enforcement and compliance costs involved in the legislation banning.
While it draws attention to a number of policy related issues worthy of examination, it does not contain any detailed policy analysis or recommendations.
Download this publication
- Contents
Preliminaries
Cover, Copyright, Foreword, Contents, Abbreviations, Summary
1 Introduction
1.1 Background to the debate
1.2 Why is a public benefit test needed?
1.3 What is a public benefit test?
1.4 What is the scope of the public benefit test?
1.5 Consultative processes
1.6 Structure of the report
2 A framework for analysis
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Key issues
3 Effectiveness of the ACT legislation
3.1 Section 69 challenge
3.2 Differential labelling provisions
3.3 Purchase of eggs from interstate
3.4 Eggs imported from other countries
3.5 Substitution effects
3.6 Enforcement
3.7 Summary
4 Animal welfare issues
4.1 What is meant by animal welfare?
4.2 The hen
4.3 What is the life cycle of hens in intensive farming systems?
4.4 Egg production systems: the battery cage and its alternatives
4.5 Current approaches to hen welfare
4.6 Impacts on welfare of the different systems
4.7 Non-scientific aspects of animal welfare
4.8 Conclusion
5 Impacts on producers and jobs
5.1 Industry structure
5.2 Costs of egg production
5.3 Impact of the ban on producers
5.4 Employment impacts
5.5 Concluding comments
6 Impacts on the ACT community
6.1 Introduction
6.2 The ACT market
6.3 What are retail prices now and what will happen to them?
6.4 Impact of the ban on the demand for eggs
6.5 What are the welfare impacts of the ban on ACT consumers?
6.6 Limitations of consumers’ apparently revealed preferences when measuring costs
6.7 Stepping outside individual consumer preferences
7 Other issues
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Human health
7.3 Environmental matters
7.4 Occupational Health and Safety
7.5 Administration, enforcement and compliance costs
7.6 Summing up
8 Policy options
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Alternative policy options
8.3 Weighing up the ACT proposals
8.4 Summing up
Appendices
A Ministerial correspondence
Terms of Reference
B Public participation
C What other countries do
D Costs to consumers
D.1 Framework
D.2 Production costs
D.3 Retail prices
D.4 Market shares
D.5 Egg consumption in the ACT
D.6 Costs to consumers — direct consumption of eggs
D.7 Costs to consumers — indirect consumption of eggs
D.8 Retailers’ and wholesalers’ margins
D.9 Total costs to consumers and intermediate users
E Retail prices in the ACT
F The expected lifespan of hens
References