2/10/2026

UPPER MICHIGAN - Michigan’s cage-free egg law is now under legal fire. The Justice Department is suing the state, arguing the rules drive up prices and clash with federal law. The case puts a spotlight on how eggs are produced, what consumers pay at the checkout line, and whether states can set their own animal welfare standards. Wayne Pacelle is president of the animal welfare advocacy group Animal Wellness Action. He says cage-free laws are about changing how hens are housed.

               0:14  "The alternative is battery cage confinement, where six or eight birds are jammed into a space about the size of a large microwave oven – and they stay in that extreme confinement for 12 to 18 months without relief."

The Justice Department contends the state’s cage-free rules raise prices for consumers and that federal law preempts state standards for eggs sold in interstate commerce. Data from the U-S Bureau of Labor Statistics show the average price of a dozen eggs spiked to almost five dollars last January, nearly double what consumers paid a year earlier.