Editing Free-range eggs (section)

== Animal welfare ==
Many animal welfare advocates, including the [[Humane Society of the United States]], maintain that cage-free and free-range eggs constitute a considerable improvement for laying hens. This has led to the adoption of a cage-free eggs standard by most major food companies in the United States, although in 2017, it was estimated that cage-free eggs represented only 10% of all produced.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/cage-free_vs_battery-cage.html|title=Cage-Free vs. Battery-Cage Eggs: The Humane Society of the United States|website=www.humanesociety.org|language=en|access-date=2017-05-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/22/egg-makers-are-freaked-out-by-the-cage-free-future.html|title=Egg makers are freaked out by the cage-free future|last=Wong|first=Vanessa|website=CNBC|date=22 March 2017|access-date=2017-05-08}}</ref> Pundits and food commentators have described the 2016 shift toward cage-free eggs across the food industry as a "bold decision" and historic shift.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://fortune.com/mcdonalds-cage-free/|title=Inside McDonald's Bold Decision to Go Cage-Free|work=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]|access-date=2017-05-08|language=en-US}}</ref> Several investigations, particularly by the animal rights group [[Direct Action Everywhere]], have raised doubts about to what degree cage-free farms are an improvement for laying hens.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/21/business/video-reveals-how-cage-free-hens-live-animal-advocates-say.html|title=How 'Cage-Free' Hens Live, in Animal Advocates' Video|last=Strom|first=Stephanie|date=20 October 2016|work=[[New York Times]]|access-date=2017-05-08|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://psmag.com/news/california-hens-can-now-stretch-their-wings-but-will-they-ever-fly|title=California Hens Can Now Stretch Their Wings, but Will They Ever Fly?|work=Pacific Standard|access-date=2017-05-08|language=en}}</ref> An investigation of a cage-free [[Costco]] facility in late 2016 purported to find cannibalism from the birds attacking each other, and concluded that neither caged nor cage-free facilities offered laying hens positive lives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/theyre-being-eaten-alive-what-i-saw-in-a-cage_us_580a5aefe4b0b1bd89fdb1d0|title='They're Being Eaten Alive!' What I Saw In A Cage-Free Egg Farm|last=Hsiung|first=Wayne|date=21 October 2016|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=2017-05-08}}</ref>