Forced molting practices in the egg industry involve feed withdrawal that causes significant suffering.
Forced molting — triggering a new feather cycle to extend laying life — has historically involved complete feed withdrawal for days, causing extreme hunger stress. Hunger is one of the most acutely unpleasant experiences for food-motivated animals. Campaigning by animal welfare organizations successfully persuaded many major egg buyers to prohibit this practice in their supply chains, demonstrating the effectiveness of corporate campaign approaches. Alternative molting methods using low-nutrient feeds rather than complete withdrawal achieve similar production outcomes with significantly less welfare cost.