Point of Contact: Che Green, Cultivate

Date Awarded: August 2023 (FSRF 2023-04-27)

Executive Summary (from the final report):

➔ In the United States, most egg buyers are unaware of the egg industry’s practice of culling male chicks, are uncomfortable with it, and support finding alternatives.

➔ Only 11% of U.S. consumers know that culling male chicks immediately after they hatch is a common practice for the egg industry; 48% think male chicks are raised for meat.

➔ 61% of egg buyers are uncomfortable with the practice of “killing” male chicks while 21% are comfortable; 73% agree the egg industry should find an alternative.

➔ 81% of egg buyers are unaware of in-ovo egg sexing technology, but 64% agree the egg industry should adopt it instead of culling male chicks.

➔ 47% of consumers (about 122 million U.S. adults) are “extremely” or “very” interested in eggs produced using in-ovo sexing; another 35% (91 million) are “slightly” interested.

➔ 71% of egg buyers are willing to pay a premium for eggs produced using in-ovo sexing, including 55% who are willing to pay a premium of 36 cents or more per dozen eggs.

➔ From most to least important, better animal welfare, improving sustainability, cheaper production costs, and egg industry innovation are all important aspects for most egg buyers.

➔ The term “no-kill” clearly performed better than other potential terms for in-ovo egg sexing; terms including “cull” fell in the middle and terms including “sex” ranking lowest.

➔ Early adopters of eggs produced using in-ovo sexing are most likely to be affluent with more formal education, ages 25-44, from the Northeast, and frequent egg buyers.

➔ Early adopters are less likely to be from lower-income households, ages 18-24, Black or African American, from the Midwest, or infrequent egg buyers.

Further Information: The full report can be downloaded here.