Your morning eggs may not taste different, but in some ways they have changed.

The University of Washington's Department of Housing and Food Services (HFS) is practicing an exclusively cage-free egg policy for all foods cooked in its dining operations.

The change is an effort to improve the welfare of egg-laying hens and comply with the UW's sustainability policy for environmentally responsible purchasing.

Anita Bowers, former assistant director of HFS, initiated the policy change earlier this year.

"She saw the need for a policy driven by humane ethics in conjunction with the president's sustainability policy at the UW," said Gabe Kinney, executive chef of HFS.

To comply with its cage-free egg policy, HFS now purchases certified humane, cage-free eggs from Wilcox Family Farms, Inc. in Roy, Wash.

To be certified humane, the cage-free hens at Wilcox must be able to perform natural behaviors such as nesting, perching and dust bathing. These are important for hen welfare, in compliance with the Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) standards for production of egg-laying hens, according to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Web site.

The hens also have access to the outdoors.

Battery-cage hens, on the other hand, are confined to their cages and denied all of these things, according to the HSUS Web site.

Wilcox must also meet requirements for stocking density and the number of perches and nesting boxes.

HFS representatives are proud to have initiated a humane program that promotes the better welfare of chickens and further establishes the UW as a socially responsible institution, Kinney said.

"Cage-free eggs mean less stress for the chickens and a better quality product," Kinney said.

Alisse Cassell, a member of Campus Animal Rights Educators (CARE), said buying eggs from a certified humane farm where chickens have outdoor access is a step in the right direction.

Cassell is still concerned about the fact that beak trimming — where part of the beak is cut off to prevent cannibalism — is permitted under the certified humane label.

According to HFAC's standards for production of egg-laying hens, producers are permitted to practice beak trimming, but will be required to phase out the practice when the cause of cannibalism and other prevention methods are identified.

Andrew Wilcox, in charge of hen operations at Wilcox, said the farm uses beak trimming methods outlined by the HFAC to ensure the humane treatment of the chickens.

"When we do the beak trimming, we try to do it as humanely as possible," Wilcox said. "We have full-time employees that come in and work with our chicks. We train them, and they understand the issues involved and try to do it the best way possible for the birds."

Josh Balk, the outreach director of the HSUS factory farming campaign, said that although beak trimming is an important issue, it doesn't compare to the cruel and inhumane confinement of hens in battery cages.

"While beak trimming is a painful process that occurs once in a hen's life, being confined in a barren wire cage that's so small they're unable even to spread their wings is an unfortunate everyday occurrence for many hens," Balk said. "The UW should be applauded for switching to cage-free eggs."

Besides improving the overall welfare of egg-laying hens, purchasing cage-free eggs from Wilcox eases transportation effects on the environment because it is a local vendor, said Joe Riley, Wilcox food service regional manager.

"When you buy local, you're reducing your carbon footprint from the gas and resources used to transport the product," Riley said. "From Roy to the UW, it's only a hop, skip and a jump away."

Kinney said HFS representatives' only concern for the policy change is financial, because cage-free eggs cost more than battery-cage eggs.

However, that concern is minute. The welfare of the chickens is more important, he said.

Students won't be burdened with the higher cost of the eggs.

"We try [to] minimize the cost effects the students would feel by establishing a balance in product prices," Kinney said. "Let's say a student gets a meal of scrambled eggs, hash browns and bacon. The eggs are the high-cost item, so we try to look for a bacon and hash brown that's a lower cost item — still maintaining the quality — so we don't have to increase a lot of the overall price of the meal for the customer."

[Reach contributing writer Sara Bruestle at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]