High up the pecking order

OLDHAM Council has been rewarded for its eggs-cellent work to bring cruelty-free food to schoolchildren.

Eggs from battery hens were banned last year and healthier new menus were introduced at all primary and special schools.

The ban was part of a wider commitment to animal welfare and the council will now join top UK firms — including Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s — in receiving a Good Egg Award 2010 from Compassion in World Farming (CIWF).

Now in its fourth year, the initiative celebrates the dedication of organisations to use cage-free eggs.

Council leader Howard Sykes said: “We are delighted.

“In making this move we knew we were backed by scientific research — which highlighted the immense suffering caused to hens living in a space the size of an A4 sheet of paper — plus positive public opinion polls and the growing sales of free-range eggs. Our schools are forecast to consume around 15,000 dozen eggs in the next academic year and I believe it is important the public knows these are being produced in cage-free conditions under ethical production standards.”

Roweb West-Henzell, CIWF’s head of food business, added: “We congratulate Oldham Council for going cage-free and hope that other councils will follow its example.

“All local authorities have a clear opportunity to lead the way in animal welfare standards, ahead of the 2012 EU ban.”