Proposition 2 would require that veal calves, pregnant pigs, and egg-laying hens be kept in a manner that allows them to fully extend their limbs. This sounded reasonable to a city girl like me.

So on Sunday, I asked George at church, because George was a chicken farmer for years. George replied gently, "A chicken is a simple creature. As long as it has food and water and light, and isn't allowed to get too hot, it's happy."

He told me that when they had free-range chickens, wild birds would, of course, fly in to eat the chicken scratch, and bring in bacteria in their droppings, so they had to treat the chickens with sulfa. He also said that he was not really up on current practices, and offered to put me in contact with someone who was.

As a result, I called Fred, who is a chick salesman. (That is chick as in baby chicken, not the slang term.) Fred said that he and others in the egg farming business thought Prop 2 was a dangerous and costly proposition that would drive half the egg production in California out of the state. That in turn would mean that half of California's eggs would be trucked in from the Midwest and Mexico to meet the demand for cheap eggs. This in turn would jeopardize public health because the agricultural safety standards in California are higher than those elsewhere.

Also to truck in eggs from out-of-state would take fuel: an extra cost and extra pollution. Now, I may be city folk, but I have taken care of other people's chickens while they were on vacation. One of the things that I soon learned was that you have to clean chickens' water dishes every day, because chickens defecate right in their water dish.

"Yes," said Fred, "and they defecate in their food," - which I had also seen - "so ag studies departments have done a lot of work on how to maintain chickens in a clean environment that is comfortable for the chicken. There's been lots of work done on the right size of cage. They have a nipple or cup for fresh water, and they have a constant source of clean fresh feed. It's FLAW."

"FLAW?" I echoed blankly.

"FLAW - Feed, Light, Air, Water. That's what a chicken needs to be happy. The birds are not that sophisticated. It takes more time and energy to run chickens on the floor. And they pick up bacteria and protozoa when they eat food off the ground where other chickens have been."

Fred pointed out that cage-free eggs are available in the supermarket for consumers who want to pay the higher price.

"The farmer is willing to supply the demand." But there is also a demand for lower-priced eggs. That demand will not go away if cage farming is prohibited.

"Europe passed a law like this, and you know what happened? They import cheap eggs from Russia now."

After thanking Fred for the information, I noticed that Prop 2 imposes a fine of $1,000 and/or 180 days in jail for violating the imposed law. I think it's ridiculous to throw someone in jail for six months for confining chickens in cages. I like having fresh local eggs available. If Californians want to eliminate caged chickens, we could all buy free range eggs exclusively. The farmers would then have an inducement to switch to cage-free practices. But some of us want free-range eggs, and some of us want cheap eggs.

Caging a chicken is not necessarily cruel, and a free-range chicken is not necessarily happy. I have seen free-range chickens peck the weakest member of the flock mercilessly. I know that George is kind to animals; I have seen him with his cat and dog. I will take his word for it that a chicken is a simple creature, comfortable when confined. No on Prop 2.

Cynthia Walker Cynthia Anne Walker is a homeschooling mother of three and former engineer. She is a published independent author. Her column is published in The Dispatch every Friday.