Google goes free-range
Google, whose founders reportedly drive Prius gas-electric cars and have invested in alternative energy, is now taking a stand for animal rights.
The company will announce that its cafeterias will serve only eggs from cage-free hens, according to an article in the San Jose Mercury News on Thursday. That's no small matter; the company serves about 300,000 eggs a year to about 6,000 employees a year, the article said.
"Animal rights groups urged the switch, noting that at many large farms, six or more hens are confined in a single wire cage," the newspaper reported. "For 12 to 18 months they cannot flap their wings or forage for food, and egg industry guidelines require only 67 square inches of space for each bird to live out its life--an area two-thirds the size of a sheet of notebook paper."
The company's global food services manager says he hopes Google's move will encourage others to act to ensure humane treatment of animals. However, Google does occasionally buy veal, he says.
Google is in good company. A company that manages cafeterias for Yahoo, Oracle and Cisco announced late last year it would buy eggs only from cage-free hens and America Online followed suit last month, the article said.
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service, and the Associated Press. E-mail Elinor. 
