We've come a long way from the Incredible, Edible Egg -- the ubiquitous advertising campaign of my youth (the American Egg Board sold me when they compared chicken eggs to dinosaur eggs) that foretold the wonders of the breakfast protein in cartoon form. But has the egg fallen so far as to need a brand remake? Apparently so.
The American Egg Board launched a new campaign this week -- The Good Egg Project -- to encourage people to "eat well and do good everyday." Even Cookie Monster apparently loves eggs now, with The Good Egg Project sponsoring this season of Sesame Street.
As part of the promotional effort, America's egg farmers will donate up to 1 million eggs to a food pantry for every person who makes an online pledge to do good. The Good Egg Project also wants to show the public the face of the average egg farmer and provide insight into how eggs are grown today.
The announcement and kick off this week (which has clearly been in the works for some time) feels slightly reactionary in the wake of a recent YouTube posting of hidden-camera video that shows graphic footage from the Hy-Line North America Hatchery Plant in Spencer, Iowa.
The video, created by a non-profit, animal advocacy group known as Mercy For Animals,
depicts what happens to baby chicks inside the plant in an effort to
convince people that the hatchery is engaged in animal cruelty.
It's difficult to watch, as male chicks are seemingly ground up
while still alive. The group hopes to convince people to consider a
vegetarian diet.
Interestingly,
the Good Egg Project goes into great detail about hens' living conditions and the farm-to-market cycle for eggs. But it doesn't mention
(as far as I can see) how hens are selected to lay those eggs. You can't have the eggs without the chickens.
Where
new hens come from is perhaps not the point --- after all, this is not
the Good Hen Project. But in light of the past several weeks, hens
might need their own campaign as well, something like: Establishing the
Pecking Order.
[Image via Flickr: woodleywonderworks]
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It's no surprise the egg industry is scrambling to keep its reputation from cracking....
Check out this undercover video inside Michael Foods, a company that supplies Dunkin Donuts that was released this week:
http://www.dunkincruelty.com/i...
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