Fast food chain A&W has a new advertising promotion guaranteeing its eggs “come from hens fed a vegetarian diet without animal byproducts.”
It is an easy claim to make in Alberta, said Egg Farmers of Alberta chair Susan Schafers.
“The vast majority of the diets are all grain-based diets,” she said during a Sept. 9 egg farm tour.
A meat-based byproduct is sometimes fed when the ration requires more protein for chicken’s nutritional needs, but the practice is not common.
“I don’t know any producers who feed that, and we are 150 some producers,” said Schafers.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
Chickens are natural meat eaters and require a certain amount of protein to maintain health, according to Egg Farmers of Canada data.
Meat-based products in feed are federally regulated, and most egg producers work with nutritionists to develop diets for their hens.
It is illegal in Canada to give steroids to laying hens.
An A&W campaign promoting “better beef,” which the company said is raised without the use of hormones or steroids, raised the ire of some cattle producers. They objected to the inference that conventionally raised beef is inferior.
Schafers said the egg campaign runs along the same lines.
“In general, the A&W campaign is building on the beef campaign, where there’s some misconceptions about how food is produced in this country.”
