Amendment to Consumer Law could define free range properly

Rebekha Sharkie, Federal MP for Mayo, South Australia, a member of the Nick Xenophon Team has tabled an amendment in Parliament to Australian Consumer Law – which, if passed, will properly define the meaning of free range eggs. The amendment reads: “eggs will only be permitted to be represented as free range eggs if they are laid by hens that are able to move about freely on an open range during daylight hours on most days, and that the majority of such hens do in fact move about freely on an open range during daylight hours. The amendment will ensure that eggs cannot be represented as free range eggs if they are laid by hens that are subject to a stocking density of more than 1500 hens per hectare. It seems unlikely that the amendment will be supported, but good on her for trying! This is exactly what Ministers and bureaucrats should have done to ensure the integrity of the egg industry.