Ministers screw up Australia's free range egg industry

Government endorsement of intensive egg production systems allowing stocking densites of 10,000 hens per hectare to be classified as 'free range' is potentially another nail in the coffin for legitimate free range farmers. For years, genuine producers have been hit with unfair completion from both ends of the market - big corporate egg factories passing off their eggs as free range to boost profits as well as backyarders who do not meet any food safety standards and are not required to pay the compliance costs which are levied on honest egg farmers