Cage-Free in Ohio

"As animal activists pressure Wendy's and other food companies to cut back on buying eggs laid by caged chickens, many of Ohio's largest egg farms have quietly gone "cage-free" with some of their production in recent years.

Nationally, Ohio ranks second to Iowa in egg production, largely thanks to Mercer and Darke counties, the nation's top egg-producing counties. The two counties had a combined 16 million egg-laying hens, according to the most recent agriculture census in 2002.

Chickens housed in buildings longer than football fields and confined to what are called battery cages supply the bulk of eggs in Ohio and nationwide. But many Ohio egg producers are responding to changing consumer preferences by producing cage-free and other specialty eggs such as organic and eggs with higher amounts of Omega 3."

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