Another big week for chickens, as the largest foodservice company on earth announced yesterday that it’s ending its use of cage eggs in all 50 nations it operates in.

Chickens have a lot to win in Massachusetts this election season, where a new poll this week shows that Question 3—to prevent farm animal cruelty—is so far the most popular measure on the ballot. (It’s of course still early.) The Boston Globe and WBUR are co-hosting an hour-long debate on the measure this upcoming Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 3pm ET (New England Egg Council vs me). You can watch live via the WBUR and Globe web sites, and submit questions on Twitter using #MABallots during the debate.

Finally, concerned about food waste? I offer some thoughts in this new op-ed on an easy way to prevent it: eating less meat.

Paul Shapiro
Vice President, Farm Animal Protection
The Humane Society of the United States
Follow at twitter.com/pshapiro

P.S. Video of the week: How else would a pig eat waffles?

P.P.S. Look at that speaker line-up! Register now for the Future of Food conference in DC (Oct. 7-8) before it sells out!

Hi guys! I just wanted to tell you about Cookie’s FAVORITE kitty toy. While my cats don’t eat completely vegan (it’s hard…I try…) I still don’t buy them wool or feather toys. So when I saw this vegan “feather” by Miso handmade on etsy, I totes had to buy them for my girls! Partly because they said “vegan” and partly because they are adorbs. So I wasn’t exactly thinking about what the cats like…but then omg Cookie is obsessed with them! Her two Miso handmade feathers are her very favorite toys. As you can see, she’s in love:

They are filled with organic catnip and made with denim or upholstery fabric and then embroidered with a feather design. Each one is different and you get two feathers for $12. They are very sturdy! Cookie plays rough with them and they are still intact. Dolores isn’t big on catnip (she’s such a weirdo) so the feathers aren’t really her bag. But if you have a kitty that likes catnip, these are sure to please! Even among Cookie’s sea of catnip toys, the feathers are her fave. 

Hi friends! I have a fun product to review for you today: edible nail polish! HILAR! So Kid Licks is an organic, vegan line of kid-safe nail polishes and they sent me one of their colors (flavors?) to try for free and give you the low-down. 

Here’s a little descriptor from their site about what makes Kid Licks different:

Ordinary nail polish is full of chemicals you would NOT want your children to ingest, like toluene, formaldehyde and DBP, the “toxic trio.” Even water based polishes and so called “kids’ polishes” are made mostly from acrylic polymers and synthetic pigment. Kid Licks is shaking up the entire industry by presenting the first polishes safe enough to eat.

Kid Licks comes in three colors: Barley Grass Green, Sour Carrot Orange, and lastly, Beet Red, which is the one I tried. As you can see below, it doesn’t look like *profesh* nail polish that you’d get at a salon or something, but it does give you a nice vibrant color. 

So of course, I had to taste it! It doesn’t taste good exactly, but that’s not really the point. Because we aren’t trying to ENCOURAGE kids to eat nail polish, right? Just making it safe in case they do. That’s what Kid Licks is for, a nail polish that’s fun for kids and, happily, won’t poison them. YAY DON’T POISON THE KIDLETS!

They’re around $14 a pop, and $35 for all three colors. More expensive than Wet n’ Wild, but again, not made from poison. You can buy them on their site!

A year ago today, an earthquake was felt throughout the egg industry, as McDonald’s announced it would start ending its use of eggs from caged hens in the U.S. and Canada. Since that time, more than 200 other companies have followed suit, as I detail in a new op-ed marking this historic anniversary in the Chicago Sun-Times.

My colleague Chris Holbein also wrote this week about success for farm animals in the last year, but in the public policy arena—check it out.

The next big moment for laying hens is in 59 days, when Massachusetts voters go to the polls to decide if they want to ban the sale of eggs from caged hens. Even if you don’t live in Massachusetts, you can help make history—all from your couch!

Paul Shapiro
Vice President, Farm Animal Protection
The Humane Society of the United States
Follow at twitter.com/pshapiro

P.S. Video of the week: Meet Marjo, the rescued battery hen who knows a cool card trick!

The cage-free revolution’s rocking south of the border! Egg Industry magazine didn’t mince words this week when it headlined: “One more blow to the egg industry.” That blow is that a major Mexican food company announced it’s abandoning cage confinement.

The progress continues in the U.S. too, including to help reduce meat use. Check out the great coverage this week of HSUS’s work with Oregon State to implement more plant-based meals into its cafeterias.

Have a great long weekend!

Paul Shapiro
Vice President, Farm Animal Protection
The Humane Society of the United States
Follow at twitter.com/pshapiro

P.S. Video of the week: Horses who want to be lap dogs.

P.P.S. Want to meet leading food and ag journalists and experts in the field? This conference in DC is for you!