LANSING — Many residents throughout the Keweenaw have made it known that many are displeased with the immediate aftermath of Michigan’s Cage-Free Egg Law which requires all eggs sold within the state to abide by its cage-free standards. Egg shelves were empty or sparse in the first couple of days of 2025, and most retailers claim that egg prices have increased due to the law.

While the law was passed in 2019 as SB 174, one of the most vocal critics who warned of the present consequences was Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township. Michigan Senate Republicans have recently shared statements made by McBroom when he was explaining his opposition to the bill in 2019 and McBroom has uploaded the clip from the senate session to his YouTube page.

“The additional cost should not be lost on any of you today, because you only have to go to a Michigan grocery store and see how much more it costs to buy cage-free eggs rather than buying conventionally raised eggs,” he said. “The cost difference is real; less than a dollar for a dozen, more than $4 for a dozen. Are you today prepared to answer to your consumers that you are voting today to raise the price of their eggs?”

This and other statements were made without foreknowledge of a combination of years of inflation and the avian influenza infecting chickens, which McBroom has said resulted in even worse price increases than he could have predicted.

McBroom compared the appeasements Michigan lawmakers had made since 2009 to activists, primarily The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), with deals with the devil. The initial law passed in 2009 required action for the changes in Michigan’s egg farm production practices, and McBroom said that when that date came that activists would demand more change from Michigan’s agricultural practitioners. HSUS believes their campaigns for the cage-free law ends what they describe as cruel practices to confining hens in battery and wire cages.

McBroom sees the change in cage requirements as unhelpful due to the fact that in larger cages hens have more opportunity to harm one another and cites higher mortality rates in cage-free environments for the animals. He also claims that the changes are highly hypocritical since the law only applies to shelled eggs and liquid eggs can still be produced under Michigan’s prior caged hen standards.

During the span from 2009 to 2019 many Michigan farmers had made changes to their facilities to fall into potential new rules that were likely to be established. That time also saw Michigan’s egg production come under the umbrella of eight farms which control over 95% of the state’s egg production. McBroom sees this as what has destroyed the farmers between the large company farms and small egg laying farm hobbyists.

“Instead of having the backyard guys to the great big guys, we have backyard guys and big guys,” he said. “Now that’s it. There is no in between anymore.”

When 2019 arrived, McBroom believes agricultural practitioners and retailers received new threats of activism such as boycotts and smear campaigns. He said that lawmakers were swayed to believe that passing the law would protect farmers from HSUS and other states’ egg businesses and that the good intention has now harmed Michigan farmers and consumers.

McBroom shared that as a dairy farmer he has seen the outcomes firsthand of the influence of HSUS on farmers.

“They’ve (HSUS) gone to the people who sell milk,” he said. “[Sellers] then come to my cooperative and say, ‘Hey, we want you to make your farmers do X, Y and Z from now on and get rid of certain things that HSUS says are bad. And if we don’t do this, then they’re going to go public and they’re going to make you all look like you are bad for your cows.’ And that increases costs — costs which I and others can’t recover.”

In a recent op-ed to the Detroit News, McBroom warned that this law is a stark lesson on the dangers of catering to out-of-state, anti-farm production groups and that constitutional processes can be manipulated to push political agendas.

McBroom suggests that the passing of this law illustrates the need for Michigan to consider reforming its ballot initiative process and access to keep non-state residents and organizations from influencing state politics for agendas that do not coincide with Michigan’s best interests.

Moving forward McBroom hopes to see the new Michigan legislature repeal the non-cage-free out-of-state egg ban in order to reverse some of the economical changes. He sees this making eggs more affordable for the average Michigander consumer.

“Of course we’re going to hear the huge protests of those eight big producers,” McBroom acknowledged.

“We’re going to hear the wild protests and provocative comments from HSUS and and other animal rights groups.”

McBroom wishes Michigan to repeal the new law and to return to its Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management Practices (GAAMP).

“GAAMPs are set by universities and farmers and groups and citizens coming together, looking at practices and establishing this is a safe good practice,” he explained. “It’s been a great method that we’ve used in Michigan for over 20 years and we ought to have continued to just relied on the GAAMP writing process in Michigan instead of letting these activists just terrorize the whole system with threats.”