June 29, 2011
AMES, Iowa — Iowa State University will team with researchers from Michigan State University, University of California, Davis and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service to study the sustainability of laying hen-housing systems.
The $6 million study, funded by the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply (CSES), will examine the interactions and trade-offs among food safety, worker safety, hen health and welfare, environmental impact and food affordability aspects of three poultry-housing systems.
Iowa State will study the environmental impact portion of the CSES Laying Hen Housing Research Project. The environmental study will evaluate the indoor thermal and air quality conditions, gaseous and particulate emissions, feed and energy utilization efficiency and manure nutrient management. The study will be conducted in three types of commercial-scale buildings:
* Conventional cage housing, used by the majority of U.S. egg producers;
* Enriched cage housing, with larger than conventional cages and equipped with perches, nesting areas and foraging and dust-bathing materials;
* Cage-free aviary, which allows hens to roam on the building's floor and have access to perches and nest boxes.
"We are delighted to be a part of this holistic approach endeavor," Hongwei Xin, director of the Egg Industry Center and professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and animal science at Iowa State. "Over the past decade we have been conducting extensive field-level measurements on the environmental impact, particularly air quality, of poultry production facilities. We are pleased to contribute our expertise to this project."
Information generated by the three-year study is expected to help egg purchasers and producers make objective, science-based decisions as the egg industry evolves in response to consumer needs and desires.
"From the environmental impact standpoint, data from this study will contribute to the much-needed raw data for life cycle assessment of carbon footprint associated with different egg production systems," said Xin.
The CSES is composed of food companies, research institutions, nongovernmental organizations and other stakeholders working to better understand the impact of various laying hen-housing systems on a sustainable supply of eggs. CSES is facilitated by the Center for Food Integrity, a nonprofit organization established to increase consumer trust and confidence in today's U.S. food system.