Seth Grande '12 has been awarded with one of the four 2010 Humane Society of the United States Student Leadership Awards, according to a Jan. 31 press release from the Humane Society of the United States. Grande was recognized for his collaboration with Brandeis University Dining Services to switch to serving only cage-free eggs.In a phone interview with the Justice, Grande said he was notified about 2 weeks before the press release that he would be receiving an award. Grande was one of four students, all from colleges or universities, recognized for working with their dining services "to create more humane practices," according to the spokesperson for the Humane Society of the United States Josh Balk in a phone interview with the Justice. Balk said all recipients of the award worked specifically with their respective university's dining services to serve cage-free eggs on their campuses.

According to Balk, the Humane Society of the United States found out about Grande and his efforts in March 2010 when Grande called the organization to ask what he could do to further promote cage-free eggs to Brandeis' Dining Services.

"Seth exhibited tremendous leadership and professionalism in moving the campus to switch to cage-free eggs," said Balk.

Grande said that he took up the cage-free egg initiative at the beginning of the fall 2010 semester. Grande was a member of the Real Food Coalition, which is now affiliated with the Students for Environmental Action, which began its campaign by asking students to sign a petition in support of serving cage-free eggs in dining halls. According to Grande, about 1,200 students signed the petition. Grande also gathered support from about ten faculty members, including Prof. Gordie Fellman (SOC).

Grande said the Student Union helped the effort by passing a unanimous resolution on Oct. 31 to Dining Services advocating for cage-free eggs.

"The Student Union gave [the cause] a lot of legitimacy," said Grande. "It made it much more weighty."

According to Grande, the biggest obstacle was dealing with the lack of information among the Brandeis community about cage-free eggs and battery-cage systems.

"People just didn't really know about the issue," said Grande. "[The Real Food Coalition] did a good job of educating people. When we told them about [the issue], people pretty much agreed."

Grande also credited news media on campus for publicizing the issue and informing students.

Student Union President Daniel Acheampong '11 announced in his past State of the Union address that the University will be serving exclusively cage-free eggs by fall 2011.

According to the Humane Society's website, cage-free eggs are obtained from hens raised in a "significantly improved level of animal welfare" than hens raised in traditional battery cages. Balk explained that hens that are raised in a battery-cage system have less than the area of a sheet of standard letter-size paper to live in for their entire lives.

"Most hens are confined in barren wire cages so small they can't even spread their wings," said Balk. "The confinement of hens in battery cages is so cruel that it has been banned in states like California and Michigan."

Balk praised both Dining Services and Grande for their collaboration on shifting to cage-free eggs.

"Brandeis University Dining Services deserves a lot of credit for its work to shift all of its eggs to cage-free," said Balk.

"Students like Seth who have successfully worked with dining operations have dramatically increased the welfare of many animals. We think this deserves praise," said Balk. "They deserve the recognition."

When asked if he had any other initiatives after his success with cage-free eggs, Grande said he did not have any specific issues that he wanted to take on but would like to help other students who have issues they would like to resolve.

"There's a lot to be done," said Grande. "There are a lot of people with great ideas, and I'd love to be able to help."

Grande also expressed interest in writing and blogging about food-related issues.