Eggs from caged hens produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions than free-range eggs, a new report has found, prompting calls for carbon footprint labelling to be used on all food products in Australia.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
A report for the Australian Egg Corporation, which represents most egg farmers, found that free-range egg production's carbon footprint in Australia was about 20per cent higher than caged production.
The main reason was because free-range egg production uses more feed per kilogram of eggs produced than caged egg production, the report, which was half-funded by the Federal Government, found.
The report also found that egg production had a lower carbon footprint than several European egg studies, mainly due to more efficient grain production in Australia.
The corporation's managing director, James Kellaway, used the findings to call for carbon footprint labelling to be included on food to help consumers make more informed choices when shopping.
Mr Kellaway said the report also suggested that eggs had the lowest carbon footprint of all the main protein foods.
''But the research also highlighted that there is still scope for refinements to current practices in egg production to allow further reductions in emissions,'' he said.
The chief executive of Planet Ark, Paul Klymenko, welcomed Mr Kellaway's calls for carbon footprint labelling.
Planet Ark and the Carbon Trust UK launched the Carbon Reduction Label in Australia after the labelling program was introduced in Britain in 2007 with just three products - chips, shampoo and smoothie drinks.
There are now hundreds of products in Britain with the label.
