Thumbs up: The chicken, the egg and the judge

California egg famers have invested millions of dollars in larger cages since 2008, when voters approved a ballot initiative requiring that chickens on egg farms have enough room to stand, turn around and spread their wings. A law enacted two years later extended the same requirement to hens that produce any eggs sold in the state. The rules took effect last year despite a legal challenge by Midwestern and Southern states, which argued that farmers shouldn’t have to choose between providing better conditions for chickens or giving up a large market for eggs.

A federal judge in Sacramento dismissed the lawsuit, a decision recently affirmed by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The outcome wasn’t unanticipated, but the appellate ruling included a surprisingly blunt message for out-of-state egg farmers. California’s laws, Circuit Judge Susan Graber wrote, “are not alleged to threaten the health of the entire population (or, indeed of anyone), and those directly affected - egg farmers - are capable of pursuing their own interests.” Thumbs up for this judge.