A sprinkling of newspapers ran stories today based on the ANR press release distributed yesterday on the potential economic effects of passing Proposition 2. Voters will decide in November whether to approve the initiative, which would require egg producers to employ cage-free production practices.
In addition to spreading news about the likely downfall of the California egg industry, the coverage revealed that there's something about eggs that begets puns.
The Sacramento Bee said the "November ballot measure meant to improve the lives of the state's laying hens likely would crack the state's egg industry."
The Woodland Daily Democrat's headline quips, "Initiative lays an egg for state producers."
The Stockton Record's jest was more subtle; its headline reads "Measure could send egg industry packing, study says." The Record's story, written by Reed Fujii, balances comments from the study's two authors with a proponent of the measure.
A radio clip on Inland News Today declares "egg-laying hens would be freed from their cages."
It looks like Proposition 2 will prompt a significant amount of debate in the coming months, but as they say, you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs.