Freerange egg farms are environmentally sustainable

Data from the science agency CSIRO shows 76 per cent of people think egg farming has a lower impact on the environment than other industries, up from 66 per cent last year. There is a balance between animal welfare and environmental concerns, in an interview with Australian Associated Press, Australia Eggs managing director Rowan McMonnies said most important issues involved trade-offs. But his claims about free range farms are misleading. He said “Free range farming uses more land. There's no doubt. In terms of the cooling of sheds it's harder because they're not sealed so use a bit more energy. "There's less feed efficiency because the hens are out and about." However, on genuine free range farms, sheds use far less energy because they are not mechanically cooled. And feed efficiency is generally higher because the hens obtain a significant part of their diet from the paddocks on which they graze.Mr McMonnies' comments are probably right if they relate only to the intensive production systems which Australian Eggs pretends are free range.