Attention, Walmart Shoppers: ‘Great Value’ Eggs Are Obtained in a Grossly Violent Way

A PETA undercover investigator visited an egg farm in Ohio that supplies Walmart (which sells its eggs under its Great Value brand). This farm keeps up to 2.4 million hens in 16 massive sheds.

What PETA found inside the sheds will show you how dark a “sunny-side up” breakfast really is.

Live Hens Caged With Decomposing Corpses

PETA’s visit to the farm—which is operated by Trillium Farm Holdings, LLC—followed the tips of two whistleblowers, including one who stated that dead hens were left to decompose among live ones in severely crowded cages.

Hens Killed, Including by Being Slowly Decapitated

When a hen was severely injured but still alive in a trash bin after a farm supervisor tried to kill her, PETA’s investigator immediately alerted the supervisor—but found the hen still languishing in pain two days later. A worker tried to finish her off by breaking her neck.

Workers also attempted to kill hens by twisting and pulling off their heads. In one case, after tugging on a hen’s head over and over again, a worker dropped her on the floor while she was still alive and left her there to die slowly. This is horrifying, inexcusable, and heartless.

Trapped and Stressed in Crowded Cages and Killed in Violent Ways

Happy hens (ones who aren’t used by humans for any reason) can live for five to 10 years, but most of those used for eggs are kept for up to two years in dark sheds, crammed into row after row of wire-floored cages, barely able to move. Each one has less living space than a sheet of paper.

After two years, the hens are “spent” and their egg production declines. Chickens are gentle, intelligent animals who enjoy basking in the sun, being with family, and living freely—but on egg farms, they’re treated as nothing more than factory equipment to be used and then thrown away. Birds at this farm were yanked out of cages, slammed against metal boxes, and then stuffed inside the boxes, piled one on top of another. If they didn’t suffocate, they were gassed with carbon dioxide, which can cause extreme pain. Chickens could be heard crying out from inside the metal boxes and banging against the walls.

Tell Walmart Shoppers: The Egg Industry Is Violent and Deadly

While you’re out shopping, go to the egg aisle at Walmart. When you see customers reaching for a carton, talk to them about PETA’s investigation. The goal is to get them to put down the eggs and choose a vegan egg replacer instead.

Here’s what you can tell them:

PETA just investigated a supplier of Walmart’s Great Value brand of eggs.
During the investigation, it was revealed that 100,000 hens were yanked around, slammed hard against metal boxes and stuffed inside them, and then gassed with carbon dioxide—which can be extremely painful. They could be heard crying out from inside the boxes and banging against the walls.
A worker ripped a live hen’s head off. Hundreds of others died while trapped in the wire flooring of the cages.
Workers attempted to kill hens by breaking their necks, which they sometimes survived. Two live birds were found severely injured in a trash bin.
Each hen has less living space than a sheet of paper.
Live birds were forced to live among decomposing corpses and continue to lay eggs bound for Walmart, which would be sold under its Great Value label. These very eggs may have rolled right over the rotting bodies of dead chickens.
Happy hens (those not used by humans) can live for five to 10 years, but those used for eggs are killed after two years, when their egg production starts to decline.
You can read all about this on PETA’s website.
Instead of buying eggs, you can use egg replacers, which are also sold at Walmart. PETA.org lists many options, which can also be found in a Google search.
Hens exploited for eggs are always killed once their production declines, whether they’re on farms that use “free-range” and “cage-free” labels and sell eggs for $8 a carton or on factory farms.
Before buying a carton of eggs, please consider the suffering and violent abuse that hens endure in the egg industry. I haven’t eaten eggs since I found out about this cruelty.

*****

The abuse uncovered at Walmart’s egg supplier is shocking but not surprising. Sadly, it’s typical, so the least we can do is speak up for chickens. Many people who eat eggs would stop if they knew how bad conditions are on farms—but they probably have no idea. Being confronted with the cruelty of egg production as they’re putting a carton into their basket will likely lead them to change their habits—and you’ll be able to see the impact of your advocacy in real time.

Shoppers who have a change of heart about buying Walmart’s eggs will likely tell their friends and family members about their experience. This leads people to go vegan all the time! E-mail your SOS adviser to let them know how your conversations go and we’ll share some of your experiences on the SOS Instagram account, @petaxsos.