Latest / Cyrus Webb's tracks / Amber Canavan of PETA discusses vegan egg options on Conversations LIVE

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Amber Canavan of PETA discusses vegan egg options on Conversations LIVE · Cyrus Webb's tracks

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Conversations Live. I'm your host,
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  Speaker 1: Cyrus Webb. Glad you all could join us once again
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  Speaker 1: for a radio audience tuning in at WYAD 94.1 FM
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  Speaker 1: and WYADonline.com, where you all can be with us. Also,
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  Speaker 1: join us online worldwide via our podcast at iHeartRadio and
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  Speaker 1: Amazon Music, as well as the Conversations Radio Network, so
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  Speaker 1: that you all could be with us as well. Today,
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  Speaker 1: we're talking about something that may be a little surprising.
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  Speaker 1: A lot of you may be egg lovers, and for
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  Speaker 1: many people, kind-hearted shoppers out there. You may reach for
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  Speaker 1: and pay extra for what are called cage-free eggs. It's
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  Speaker 1: something we'd be hearing a lot more here in the South.
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  Speaker 1: You may be thinking that you're buying a humane alternative
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  Speaker 1: to other egg production systems, but that label may not
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  Speaker 1: be telling you everything that you need to know. That's
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  Speaker 1: why we're really excited about our next segment. We have
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  Speaker 1: Amber Canavan joining us today. Amber is the Associate Director
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  Speaker 1: of Vegan Campaigns for PETA. She's going to talk to
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  Speaker 1: us not only about some great options, but also let
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  Speaker 1: you know more about what you need to be educated
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  Speaker 1: about when it comes to cage-free products. Amber, thank you
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  Speaker 1: again for stopping by. I really appreciate it.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me and excited to
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  Speaker 2: talk about this topic.
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  Speaker 1: You know, Amber, this is something here in Mississippi we've
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  Speaker 1: been hearing more about, and I'm going to be honest,
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  Speaker 1: I would say probably in the last year I've been
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  Speaker 1: hearing more about cage-free eggs and how people are talking
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  Speaker 1: about it being a better alternative. But what does cage-free
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  Speaker 1: really mean?
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  Speaker 2: Well, cage-free is a deceptive marketing phrase You know, people,
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  Speaker 2: the egg industry knows that people care about animals, that
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  Speaker 2: there is that concern. I think there's a rising, you know,
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  Speaker 2: level of knowledge about how hens are crammed into these
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  Speaker 2: horrible battery cages. So a battery cage is how most
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  Speaker 2: hens in the U.S. are raised. It's a file-sized drawer
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  Speaker 2: where there's multiple hens crammed wing to wing on this, like,
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  Speaker 2: wire-bottomed cage. And they're just living in there their entire
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  Speaker 2: lives laying eggs. But instead of actually giving these hens
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  Speaker 2: the kind of space that you might imagine when you
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  Speaker 2: think about cage-free, they just took the cages away and
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  Speaker 2: left them inside the giant filthy warehouse where it's like
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  Speaker 2: one square foot per bird, tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds
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  Speaker 2: of thousands of birds in one factory farm shed. That's
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  Speaker 2: not really what you're imagining when you think about cage-free labels.
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  Speaker 1: Right, exactly. And that's why conversations like this, even though
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  Speaker 1: it may be surprising to our audience, Amber, it definitely
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  Speaker 1: is important to be able to have. So how can
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  Speaker 1: consumers avoid being misled by marketing labels like this?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so these cage-free and to an extent the free-range
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  Speaker 2: pasture-raised labels, they're tricking people into paying more for much
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  Speaker 2: of the same cruelty. So hens raised in these facilities
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  Speaker 2: can sometimes even suffer more from the crowding, the cramp
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  Speaker 2: stressful conditions. The conditions are so bad that most of
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  Speaker 2: the time they'll actually cut the very sensitive tips of
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  Speaker 2: the hen's beaks off to try to prevent them from
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  Speaker 2: stress-induced pecking. So, you know, just making sure people know
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  Speaker 2: what we're talking about here. This is not good conditions
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  Speaker 2: for these hens And we're suggesting people swap away from
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  Speaker 2: eggs for breakfast. You can't trust these labels. The labels
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  Speaker 2: are meant to make the consumer feel more comfortable than
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  Speaker 2: to really do anything for the hens. And on top
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  Speaker 2: of that, you're paying more for it for much of
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  Speaker 2: the same cruelty. All that upcharge is going straight into
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  Speaker 2: executives' pockets, not actually improving things for the hens. And
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  Speaker 2: there's so many other delicious things you can have for breakfast.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's why I'm glad about the segment, Amber,
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  Speaker 1: because one thing I want to say about it, especially
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  Speaker 1: a lot of our local restaurants I've noticed are being
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  Speaker 1: able to offer more vegan options. And I'm so excited
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  Speaker 1: about that for myself and for my family because it
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  Speaker 1: does give us alternatives. So what are some easy vegan
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  Speaker 1: swaps for eggs for breakfast?
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  Speaker 2: My favorite for breakfast is a hearty tofu scramble. So
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  Speaker 2: you can pick up the scramble. It's very versatile. You
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  Speaker 2: can throw some bell peppers in there, some tomatoes, onions,
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  Speaker 2: maybe some mushrooms. Or if you hate mushrooms, no mushrooms.
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  Speaker 2: You know, you can customize it for yourself. You can
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  Speaker 2: have that big old pile of delicious tofu scramble. For me,
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  Speaker 2: I like putting it on an English muffin or a bagel.
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  Speaker 2: But there's also delicious vegan egg products out there as well.
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  Speaker 2: So some favorites are Just Egg. So you can get
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  Speaker 2: that in like a liquid carton that's just like a
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  Speaker 2: scrambled egg. They also have Just Egg Folds, which are
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  Speaker 2: really easy for breakfast on the go because it's like
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  Speaker 2: already this little egg patty that you can put on
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  Speaker 2: a breakfast sandwich or a burrito. There's also Yo Egg
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  Speaker 2: and a bunch of other delicious options. And then for baking,
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  Speaker 2: if you're making pancakes in the morning, muffins, or anything
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  Speaker 2: else that requires baking, there are some delicious options out there.
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  Speaker 2: My favorite is Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer. It is shelf-stable.
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  Speaker 2: You can find it in the baking aisle. And then
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  Speaker 2: you're not even worrying about things going bad in the fridge.
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  Speaker 2: It's just always sitting there for you when you need it.
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  Speaker 1: Amber, are you finding that there are people, especially I
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  Speaker 1: know I mentioned here in the South, I can speak
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  Speaker 1: for those that I speak to within the state, but
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  Speaker 1: are you finding that more people are looking for alternatives
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  Speaker 1: so that we don't have situations where you have, like
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  Speaker 1: what we're talking about here, where there is these inhumane
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  Speaker 1: treatment programs of animals, especially in this case where we're
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  Speaker 1: talking about hens.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, people are more and more concerned about the health
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  Speaker 2: aspect of this too. So eggs are full of cholesterol
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  Speaker 2: and saturated fat. They're also coming from very, very filthy
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  Speaker 2: factory farms, right? So these birds are crammed in there
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  Speaker 2: wing to wing. They're covered in their own feces, high
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  Speaker 2: rates of respiratory disease. Avian flu has been out there
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  Speaker 2: for years now, too. Not to mention you're hearing all
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  Speaker 2: these salmonella outbreaks and E. coli, and it just runs
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  Speaker 2: the gamut. I mean, there's so many things about egg
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  Speaker 2: production and factory farming that disgust me, but we just
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  Speaker 2: actually had an investigation where a whistleblower submitted video that
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  Speaker 2: would have never reached the public's eye if they hadn't
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  Speaker 2: done this. But there were eggs actually rolling down the
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  Speaker 2: conveyor belt, bumping into the bodies of dead birds on
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  Speaker 2: the way. And that's not reflected on the label when
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  Speaker 2: you're at the grocery store and deciding what to grab.
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  Speaker 2: After hearing that, if I hadn't already stopped eating eggs
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  Speaker 2: years ago, I would be absolutely reaching for the tofu
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  Speaker 2: in the next shelf over for my tofu scramble and
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  Speaker 2: never picking up an egg carton again.
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  Speaker 1: Well, it's important information for our audience, Amber, and that's
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  Speaker 1: why we're glad to have you on. Again, everyone, Amber
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  Speaker 1: Canavan has been our guest, the Assistant Director of Vegan
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  Speaker 1: Campaigns for PETA, helping you guys not only know about
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  Speaker 1: what you need to recognize about cage-free products that you
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  Speaker 1: may see, but also the importance of alternatives as well. Amber,
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  Speaker 1: where can our audience go for more information?
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  Speaker 2: We invite everyone to visit PETA.org. Check out those investigations
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  Speaker 2: and whistleblower reports from inside the egg industry to see
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  Speaker 2: what those cage-free conditions actually really look like. They don't
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  Speaker 2: look like what's on the label. And check out our free,
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  Speaker 2: delicious egg-free recipes and cooking tips. And we will mail
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  Speaker 2: out a paper copy of our vegan starter guide as
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  Speaker 2: well to anyone who asks.
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  Speaker 1: Okay. And we should have linked that up as well. Amber,
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  Speaker 1: thank you again for the time today. Really appreciate it.
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  Speaker 1: Looking forward to having you back on the broadcast again.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much.
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  Speaker 1: More than welcome. And we thank your audience for tuning
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  Speaker 1: in to another great segment of Conversations Live. Until next time,
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, Cyrus Webster. As always, enjoy your day,
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  Speaker 1: enjoy your life, enjoy your world. Thank you for being
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  Speaker 1: with us here at Conversations Live. Let us go make
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  Speaker 1: today amazing. Take care.