I am surprised it passed...it is very encouraging that the people care about their food supply.

There's no chance that this measure will be the end of the egg industry where we get our eggs.  We buy from local farmers who let their chickens run around outside, feed them organic grains, don't cut off their beaks, and don't give them antibiotics.  Not only do we feel good that our eggs don't cause suffering to the chickens, they taste much better and are more nutritious than eggs from tortured hens.

Right, BioD.  This is where Mueneeez's sanguine interpretation of the vote gets put to the test: If California voters really "care about their food supply," then presumably they will now be prepared to reward California suppliers in the marketplace.

My own more cynical interpretation is that the 63% majority did indeed feel they were doing something good by voting Yes for Proposition 2; but of them, probably a sizeable majority did not fully understand what they were voting for, and had not considered economic consequences.

As for Wolverine's interesting suggestion, is there in fact any scientific evidence that the eggs of happy-go-lucky chickens taste better than those of miserable, tortured chickens?  And if so, is the determining factor really the emotional state of the mama chicken?

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

Canis,

How does one acquire scientific evidence for such a subjective conclusion?  That's like asking if there is any scientific evidence that the Beatles made better music than the Rolling Stones.                                        

My comment is based on the difference in taste between eggs in restaurants, which are the commercial kind, and the eggs we buy for home.  It's similar to wild meat, such as salmon, tasting better and being more nutritious than domesticated meat.

In response to caniscandida's query: As Wolverine points out, scientific evidence on this question is likely to prove elusive.  Anecdotal evidence, however, is thick on the ground.  My mother keeps chickens, and sells surplus eggs in season, and virtually everyone who has had our "home-grown" eggs finds them greatly superior to the "grocery store" variety.  As for myself, I do not think I could ever resign myself to buying CAFO eggs from the grocery store, even if I set my ethical and ecological concerns aside.  Whether the emotional state of the birds contributes to the quality of the eggs is difficult to say, but a good diet and a healthy lifestyle almost certainly make a positive difference.  

Let the jaguars return!

Right, Wolverine.  It is just that the way you had worded your contrast of the two classes of eggs suggested to my free-associating mind that the emotional state of the mothers might be a significant factor.

In the case of salmon, there seems to be more than mere subjectivity going on.  The great majority of piscivores, I believe it is fair to say, declare that there is a world of difference between the meat of wild salmon, and that of farmed salmon -- and they by far prefer the former.  And it seems to be commonly accepted that the reason for the difference in taste is to be found in the different lifestyles and diets of the two kinds of fish, and NOT in their emotional health, however attractive that suggestion may be to some of us.

As for the role of connoisseurship in evaluating Early Music, the Beatles and the Stones are both supremely delightful bands; but their styles are so different that it is easily possible for a listener to prefer one to the other, without suggesting that that one is "better," and the other "worse."

Up there with the Beatles and the Stones, by the way, is Neil Young, whether with Crosby, Stills and Nash or solo.  On the other hand, the most over-rated band in music history is the Doors; and probably the second most over-rated is the Who.  IMHO  : )

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

The Meat & Milk Industry is loaded with funds and could IMMEDIATELY, if they so choose, LOWER THE PRICE of milk, eggs and meat. They cry poverty and scream higher prices because they need to use fear tactics to convince voters to vote to continue cruel, cheap, poisonous ways of imprisoning cows and their innocent, loving calves, sows and their bouncy, pink piglets and chickens with their fluffy, yellow chicks. These are god's good creatures, put on this earth to enhance our lives, not to be inhumanely imprisoned, doped up, hideously treated throughout their sad and painful lives to end with the deepest fear of hanging upside down with hooks in their neck or back or chest, listening to the anguish of the thousands of animals butchered like this every day of every month of every year for the likes of the cruel and thieving Meat & Milk Industry. Hanging upside down while alive to await the cruelest deaths also creates a hormonal effect, flooding the animal with negative fear and pain hormones. This ruins the meat but who cares? The public is unaware of these practices and the Factory "prisons" don't speak of the Unspeakable, but I ran a bio-organic sheep farm for 10 years and know the hideousness of the Meat Industry. This is nauseating and must be stopped in the name of ethics, morals and human benevolence and understanding. Greed is not our creed!
Prop 2 will take affect in 2015 so HOW THE $#$%^%^ can the factory prisons claim higher prices. They are fear-mongers who want to keep their Cadillacs at the expense of humane treatment of god's beautiful gifts to humanity. What price corruption.
Let me remind you that these practices are ILLEGAL in Europe and have been for as long as I have been in this industry. May Fac/Prison owners come back as pregnant sows in their own wretched Factories.

Bio-Organic Sheep Ranch Farmer who made a fine living caring for her "products" as nature intended.

Scintillating Skua,

I love your PASSION FOR ANIMALS. THANKS!!!!

The answer to the overwhelming factory farming tradegy is for each one of us to walk our talk and turn to a VEGAN diet.

One by one we can change our country.

This will enhance tha air we breath,  curb our over-dependence on oil, heal our soil, feed so many more people and put humanity back on a more sustainable, health, and blanced track.

Change your diet and change our world!!!!

In reference to Melody's comments... no, we cannot meet the current poultry and egg demands of U.S. consumers with truly free-range, pastured chickens. The solution is an overall reduction in consumption of meat, which absolutely needs to happen both for environmental and public health reasons, and were prices to increase across the board, Americans would buy less chicken and fewer eggs. It's sad that the majority of consumers in this country (across the world?) don't make the decision to consume less until it hits our wallets, but in this case, since factory farms aren't transparent enough for people to see what they're buying (which I have a feeling would also affect eating habits), the price increase will have to do. Poor-quality poultry protein is absolutely not necessary for the human body to thrive.