Joining more than 80 other colleges and universities, UW-Madison's University Housing Food Services agreed to engage in the near-exclusive\ use of cage-free, and thus ""cruelty-free"", eggs, the Humane Society of the United States announced Monday.
University Housing Food Services will use the organic eggs in all dining facilities, including Ed's Express, Pop's Club, Liz Waters, 420 Chadbourne Place and Frank's Place.
The HSUS believes living in wire enclosures restrict the chickens' wing movements, nesting tendencies and perching spaces.
""Each bird is afforded less space than a single sheet of paper on which to live, leading to extremely high levels of stress and frustration"" for the birds, HSUS Marketing Outreach Coordinator Erin Williams wrote in a statement.
By using cage-free eggs, UW-Madison will contribute to ""[improving] the lives of thousands of animals,"" said HSUS Factory Farming Campaign Director Paul Shapiro.
University Housing Food Services used approximately 85,000 whole eggs and more than 65,000 pounds of liquefied eggs in 2005, according to the statement.
""Based on the average egg production per laying hen,"" Williams wrote, ""UW-Madison's switch translates into improving the lives of approximately 3,000 egg-laying hens.""
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