Birthdays are a celebration of life- moments filled with joy, cake, and the shared excitement of another year lived. Birth itself is a miraculous and beautiful thing, a fresh beginning that fills us with hope and happiness. The cake we enjoy during these celebrations symbolizes that sweetness, a moment to honour life and the connections we make along the way.
But behind the sweetness of that cake lies a darker truth: the eggs that make it possible come from an industry built on cruelty and exploitation.
In this mixed-media sculpture, I explore one of the most brutal, yet standard practices in the egg industry- the culling of male chicks. Freshly hatched male chicks are placed on a conveyor belt alongside their discarded egg shells and shredded alive through a method called maceration.
23 million male chicks are “culled” every year in Canada.
Most male chicks are deemed useless to the egg industry, as they do not lay eggs and are not bred to grow large enough for meat production. Unfortunately, this practice is standard across all egg farms, whether industrial, local, or those labeled "free-range," "free-run," or "organic." Unless backyard hens are rescued directly from these egg farms, these operations also directly support these same breeders that cull their chicks to supply their customers with female chickens.
Through this piece, I hope to provoke thought about the food we consume and the hidden practices we unknowingly support. This sculpture asks us to reconsider what we are truly celebrating when we partake in these rituals and to reflect on the ethical cost of our choices.
To learn more, you can watch Dominion, a free documentary by the Farm Transparency Project, available on YouTube.