WHEREAS:	Animal welfare organizations and the media have illuminated the cruel and inhumane treatment of egg-laying hens confined in factory farm battery cages; and
WHEREAS:	About 95% of the nearly 300 million hens in the United States are confined in barren, wire battery cages so restrictive the birds do not even have enough space to spread their wings.  With no opportunity to engage in many of their natural behaviors - including nesting, dust bathing, perching, and walking - these birds endure lives wrought with suffering.  In fact, each hen has less space than a single sheet of paper in which to spend her entire life; and
WHEREAS:	Many countries, including Austria, Germany, and Switzerland have banned the use of battery cages for egg-laying hens; and
WHEREAS:	Municipal governments in the United States have passed resolutions opposing this factory farming abuse; and
WHEREAS:	Massachusetts schools such as Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Lesley University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Northeastern University have joined more than 150 others across the country in enacting policies to either completely eliminate or decrease their use of battery cage eggs; and
WHEREAS:	Retail giants Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural marketplace exclusively sell eggs from cage-free hens, while Needham-based Trader Joe's has the same policy for its brand of eggs.  Burger King has started using cage-free eggs.  Ben & Jerry's is also phasing in the exclusive use of cage-free eggs.  Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck made a company-wide decision to only use cage-free eggs in his restaurants, grocery store items and catering business.  Boston-based restaurant chains, Finagle-A-Bagel and Bagel Rising are using cage-free eggs.  Bon Appetite Management Company is implementing an exclusive cage-free egg policy for all 200 of its clients.  Both AOL and Google only serve cage-free eggs in their company cafeterias.  All 40 locations of Omni Hotels will only serve cage-free eggs to its guests; and
WHEREAS:	Cage-free egg farms generally provide egg-laying hens with a higher level of welfare than battery cage facilities; and
WHEREAS:	Cambridge is known for its social responsibility and humane sentiment and is part of a metro area that has been ranked in the top ten as one of the most humane in the nation by The Humane Society of the United States' Humane Index; now therefore be it
RESOLVED:	That the Cambridge City Council opposes battery cage egg production, based on the inherent cruelty of confining egg-laying hens in battery cages; and be it further
RESOLVED:	That the Cambridge City Council encourages consumers of eggs not to purchase eggs produced by caged hens.