Animal Welfare
Similar to all other forms of egg production in the United States, organic production is also regulated by animal welfare audit system. Mistreatment of the chickens could potentially lead a farmer to losing their organic certification. Thus some of the arguments from animal activist organizations that egg production is cruel and inhumane do not necessarily apply to organic raised hens. On the other hand, male chicks who are born on organic or free-range egg farms are still discarded, by the use of lethal gas, because they do not produce eggs. The American Organic Standards still allow beak trimming as a means to lessen injury to the birds.
Read more about this topic: Organic Egg Production
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