Germany and France announced an official policy against culled male chicks in the egg-laying business. As noted by other analysts, it is a problem recognized by the industry but without an easy solution. In the goal of producing egg-laying hens, half the chicks born are male and are of low quality for producing meat, which is derived from broiler-type birds. With no economic value, the chicks are euthanized. One estimate pegs the number of euthanized male chicks at 300 million per year in the U.S. and 6 billion worldwide. There are two technologies for identifying the chick’s sex before hatching. At one to two cents per egg, the cost is not unbearable. Eggs are the lowest cost protein source, and this would add 16 percent in cost per...