PRESENTED AT THE PACIFIC EGG AND POULTRY ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE, MONTEREY, CA, MAY 10, 2001, BY JOHN GINGERICH, WEGMANS EGG FARM, WOLCOTT, NY.

"Until recent years, our society overwhelmingly accepted that farmers predominately behaved with an acceptable level of integrity in how they cared for their animals, and showed little concern about how their food was being produced. . .

Misinformation has been intentionally or ignorantly presented in many media forms to a society which is largely urban and not well informed of the facts. . .

I have found in the many tours that I have given to persons without poultry backgrounds that the single most common comment involving negative perceptions that they have is the small amount of space that we give the chickens.

I observe 7-10 day beak trimming, and see little evidence that the bird suffers from the procedure. . .

I prefer to stay away from molting for image purposes, at least at this point. . .

Our company intends to lead the way."