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Originally written by Luis Costigan of Effective Altruism Japan, modified by Yuki Takahashi. Summary Farm animal welfare is considered a high-priority cause area by the Effective Altruism community due to the sheer scale, neglectedness, and tractability of the problem. Egg-layer hens are the most farmed animals both globally and in Japan (excluding fish). The number is similar to that of humans. Over 99% of layer hens in Japan are reared in battery cages. Battery cages are plausibly extremely bad; many sources have evaluated a life in a battery cage to provide the lowest levels of welfare across all farmed land animals. Campaigning for corporations to source eggs from cage-free producers…
In response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, MISATOYA in Chofu City, Tokyo, responded that all the eggs they use are already cage-free and that they would support the cage-free declaration. This is a greengrocer dealing with organic vegetables, additive-free foods, etc. and has a natural food restaurant. They have been using cage-free eggs for 35 years. ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー Also in response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, Natural Ingredients Origin in Oku Kyoto Ayabe responded that all the eggs they use are already cage-free and that they would support the cage-free declaration. She is using cage-free eggs because her daughter is allergic but had no allergic reaction…
To regain confidence in the OIE animal welfare code! Press release: 2020/12/25 Japan’s animal protection groups Animal Rights Center Japan and The Humane League Japan, and the international chicken welfare alliance Open Wing Alliance, working with six domestic animal protection groups, have pointed out to OIE that the current draft of “Chapter 7.Z Animal Welfare and Laying Hen Production Systems”, which includes Japan’s possibly fraudulent opinions, is unreliable. We requested that the items that Japan’s comments and opinions may have influenced be reviewed, and be revised to a fair standard that could truly bring about improvements in animal welfare to the world. This request letter was sent on 2020/12/24 (Japan…
Imu Hotel Kyoto and Animal Rights Center Japan have been on the path to cage-free over the past year, with occasional harsh debates. Originally with vegan options and a proven track record of food education events, including animal welfare, the hotel’s restaurant naturally has a deep commitment to ingredients. Initially, the food supplier used by Imu Hotel did not handle cage-free eggs, and there was a big hurdle to achieving cage-free without changing the favors at the restaurant. For this reason ARCJ introduced some poultry farms in the neighborhood, but it was difficult to get OK from the Imu Hotel side. The price of cage-free eggs that match the chef’s…
On 2020/12/21, it was reported that the former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Takamori Yoshikawa announced that he would resign as a member of the Diet, and on the 22nd, he submitted a resignation request to the chairman of the House of Representatives, Tadamori Oshima, which was accepted. As the chairman Oshima was also a representative who was named to have been involved with Akita Foods in Bunshun press, this act makes one feel that there may be no clean politics. While the politician who received fraudulent money is denounced, it’s a strange society where the corporation to which the representative who gave the fraudulent money belonged can escape…
A former representative (then president) of an egg poultry giant Akita Foods handed about 5 million yen in cash to Japan’s former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and had entertained the Cabinet Special Advisor Koya Nishikawa, on a cruise ship. This case is directly linked to the suffering of chickens. The fact that the poultry industry and politicians profited means that there are those who suffer disadvantages, but the victims this time are the weak and the voiceless who do not speak human language; they are the chickens. The OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) states that one of the guiding principles of animal welfare is that “The use…
In response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, Gateau d’ange Tenshi-no-pancake in Kamakura District, Kanagawa Prefecture, responded that all the eggs they use are already cage-free and that they would support the cage-free declaration. The owner says, I use cage-free eggs because chickens are living creatures, so I want to use eggs of healthy chickens who are stress-free, and have not been given antibiotics. I also consider whether the environment is suitable for animal welfare and is not reared in a poor environment. I am also conscious of circulating food scraps in the field as compost. We are also working on wood-burning stoves, solar power generation, and the…
Coalition of 75 nonprofits persuades Restaurant Brands International (RBI) to source 100% cage-free eggs worldwide. One of the world’s largest restaurant groups, Restaurant Brands International (RBI), owner of leading brands Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons, today released comprehensive global cage-free policies. This commitment to improving its animal welfare policies occurred within 44 days of the launch of a public campaign by the Open Wing Alliance, a coalition of more than 75 major animal protection organizations. The new global policy released by Restaurant Brands International (RBI) commits each brand to sourcing 100% cage-free eggs and egg products for every single one of their locations worldwide. This transition will be complete…
In response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, Oninoie, a social welfare corporation based in Saitama that develops various businesses such as employment support for people with disabilities, responded that all the eggs they use are already cage-free and that they would support the cage-free declaration. The owner says, I want to use healthy chicken eggs and keep them cage-free. Chickens fly around freely, eating healthy food such as vegetable scraps, broccoli leaves, and Japanese mustard spinach. I feel sorry about cage rearing. At Oninoie poultry Farm, it is the role of the handicapped persons to feed and collect eggs, and it can be said that this is…
In the media reports of the poultry bribe suspicion case in which the former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, had secretly received 5 million yen in cash from a former representative of the egg-producing giant “Akita Foods” (Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture), there was the following detail: There are voices that both MAFF’s argument against the OIE’s international standard on AW, and the expansion of support for large-scale producers of price difference compensation projects, “were the default route, and may not have required politicians’ intervention”. 2020/12/7 Sankei Newspaper Is this really the case? It’s true that the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has backward attitude toward the world…
Japan’s leading egg producer Akita Foods is alleged to have bribed the Agriculture Minister so that the OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) standard for animal welfare allows for battery cages. Subsequently, Japan submitted an opinion to OIE that chickens do not need dust-bathing litter, nesting area, or perches, and that animal welfare can be achieved even with battery cages. As a result, OIE’s original proposal, which required litter, perches, and nest boxes, changed such that these installations are only “desirable” (moreover Japan is requesting that even “desirable” be omitted). The news that a former representative of a major egg producer “Akita Foods” (Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture) handed cash to…
Animal cruelty, in treatment of any animals that humans deal with in society, is something that must not exist, either legally or morally, and it must be eliminated in industrial animals as well. Shinjiro Koizumi, Minister of the Environment This was clarified by a question from a member of the House of Representatives, Keinin Horikoshi (Gunma), at the Environment Committee of the House of Representatives on November 17, 2020. For many, this must be taken for granted. However, in the livestock industry, animal cruelty has become commonplace, and mistaken procedures have become commonplace, and the self-cleansing action to correct them has not worked, and the animals used for livestock have…
A member of the House of Representative, Mr. Seiichi Kushida from Kanagawa, asked questions about battery cages for chicken hens, gestation crates for sows, dog meat, and treatment for retired horses at a committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries held on November 11, 2020. Mr. Kushida started by referring to the demands from the olympians that eggs and pork for the Olympics and Paralympics should come from cage free and gestation crate free ranches. With that, he requested minister Nogami from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (MAFF) to take a leadership role to tackle animal welfare issues in Japan. In his response, the minister stated as follows: Animal…
Many hens in Japan have a short miserable life in a battery cage. The result of an investigation conducted by the Animal Rights Center shows their condition is much crueler than the center had expected. ▾MOVIE | ▾Whistle-blowing and Vilification | ▾The Conditions of Hens at Night | ▾Why is this happening? | ▾Violating Global Standards AND Domestic Law | ▾Shift for Change | ▾Get on with improvements! After hens are used as egg-laying machines for one or two years, they are called waste chickens or mature chickens. They are slaughtered for meat. The meat is used for canned meat products, processed food, frozen food, ground meat, chicken extract, and chicken ham. Their big, but unhealthily white-color bent combs are used for…
In response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, bio sweet’s capocapo in Funai District, Kyoto Prefecture, responded that all the eggs they use are already cage-free and that they would support the cage-free declaration. This is a natural confectionery studio with a cafe. The owner says, When procuring eggs, I actually saw cage and cage-free rearing at a local producer, and the chickens packed in the small cages were pitiful, while in cage-free rearing I saw them running around. I’m using cage-free eggs because I wanted to use eggs from freely-reared chickens. This store kindly agreed to declare cage-free. What is cage rearing? In cage rearing, which is…
Oenosato Nature Farm in Yazu-gun, Tottori Prefecture has supported ARCJ’s Cage-Free & Egg-Smart Campaign. Eggs used in restaurants, cafes, and souvenirs like sweets in the facility are all cage-free. Only the eggs collected at the cage-free poultry farm in the ranch are used. Pancakes and sweets made with cage-free eggs are gaining popularity. In addition, Oenosato Nature Farm has a 40,000-bird class cage-free poultry farm.They began cage-free rearing because “the founder, who was disappointed with modern poultry that treats chickens as if they were tools for laying eggs, treats chickens as living beings and raises them in their natural form” *1.“It is natural for chickens to run around freely on…
In response to ARCJ’s cage-free and egg-smart campaign calls, Innovation Design Ltd has declared cage-free, promising the future use of cage-free eggs at their three cafes operating in the Tokyo metropolitan area. It was last year that the company, which was originally a consulting business for restaurants, started directly managing cafes in an attempt to give shape to their sentiment. The company’s representative, who has a long history of knowledge of the SDGs, became interested in the restaurant business because of the food loss issue. The beginning was in recycling and commercializing out-of-spec vegetables to be discarded as “ReFOOD”. Furthermore, at the end of 2019, they registered their three managed…
In response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, MAMAHALO in Miyoshi City, Aichi prefecture, responded that all the eggs they use are already cage-free and that they would support the cage-free declaration. At this shop, eggs are mainly used for chiffon cakes. Blog https://profile.ameba.jp/ameba/makimakimaki0816 Also in response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, kinon cafe & arts which operates by appearing at events responded that all the eggs they use are already cage-free and that they would support the cage-free declaration. The owner says, Rather than keeping a lot of animals in a small cage and mass-producing them, I would like to see an era in…
In response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, Meiwakai, a social welfare corporation based in Shizuoka, responded that all the eggs they use are already cage-free and that they would support the cage-free declaration. They operate employment support for the disabled, retirement home, and nursery schools, and at Meiwakai poultry Farm, it is the role of the handicapped persons who live in the Akiha dormitory to feed and collect the eggs. Cage-free eggs are used for meals at each facility and at Tsubasa Mei-chan’s bakery within the same business. The owner says, I think in cage-free rearing they’re more energetic and lay better eggs. We mix in the…
In response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, Sumiyanokurashi in Kariya, Miyagi, responded that all the eggs they use are already cage-free and that they would support the cage-free declaration. This is a workshop for living alongside nature and produces charcoal, sweets, and bread, and cage-free eggs are used for cakes. The owner says, It is better to take the natural form and in that respect cage rearing is not desirable. After all, rearing a chicken in an unnatural place will cause them to lose their energy and suffer. I think it is better to circulate in a natural state without using chemicals. What is cage rearing? In cage…
The multi-partisan parliamentary group aiming for zero killing of dogs and cats has established a project team for amending the Animal Welfare Act. Since its launch on August 25, 2023, the PT has held 21 meetings to hear from stakeholders and deliberate on the direction of amendments. Out of these 21 sessions, however, only one touched on livestock animals, and just one on laboratory animals. Despite 1 billion livestock animals being killed annually, the issue remains far from the priorities of lawmakers. In the sole PT meeting addressing livestock, the discussions showed promise, but it is unlikely to expect significant amendments by 2025 at this rate. 17th PT: Hearings on…