About two weeks ago, I was sitting at Einstein Bros. Bagels when a representative from the Real Food Coalition came up to me with a petition demanding that Brandeis Dining Services start serving exclusively cage-free eggs. She asked me to sign, and I said no.

My response clearly shocked her. Her eyes suddenly widened as she launched into an emotional tirade about the horrendous conditions in the battery cages where egg-laying hens spend the majority of their lives.

I politely told her that I wasn't going to sign because I don't want to pay extra for the eggs. When she told me it would only add $5 to the cost of the meal plan, I responded, a little more forcefully, that cage-free eggs are not on my list of priorities.

At that, she put on a more patronizing tone, told me my opinion was really unfortunate and stalked off.

Members of the Real Food Coalition might have you believe that I did something heinous by refusing to sign the petition. But despite all the noise they've been making on this issue, the idea of serving exclusively cage-free eggs is not one that our entire community is totally invested in.

Although 90 percent of respondents on the recent Student Union poll said they were in favor of serving only cage-free eggs, the poll was only out of 877 students. Where is the rest of the community on this issue? We shouldn't make such a huge change that will affect everyone when only 28 percent of students have voiced their opinion.

Furthermore, the outcome of the poll might have been different if the Real Food Coalition didn't use such emotionally charged rhetoric to get people to support their cause.

Everyone feels so bad for these poor hens that no one has stopped to look at the practicalities of the issue. But if you think about it a little more rationally, you might realize that serving exclusively cage-free eggs on campus just doesn't make sense.

First of all, serving exclusively cage-free eggs might be more costly than we think. The reason hens are usually raised in battery cages is because it is cheaper and far more efficient. When hens live free-range, they lay eggs less often and their upkeep is more expensive; therefore, the eggs they produce are more expensive.

Serving cage-free eggs might only cost an extra $5 per semester for every student that is on a meal plan, but everyone seems to have overlooked the potential increase in the actual price of food on campus.

If Aramark wants to make a profit, they will probably have to raise food prices to accommodate for the significant increase in the price of eggs. That means our meal plans won't give us as much value for our money. And if you don't have a meal plan, the price of food will make eating on campus much less convenient.

Considering how much Brandeis students complain about the cost of food on campus, I can't quite understand why everyone is so enthusiastic about a proposal that will only make food even more expensive.

But let's put the minute detail of increased food prices aside for a second. Serving cage-free eggs is a pretty noble cause.

After all, we're liberating hens from the confines of the battery cages so they can live free-range, just the way nature intended. Or at least it sounds like a noble cause until you look down at your plate and realize that the hen you just liberated is now fried up and being served with a side of scrambled, cage-free eggs.

It is pretty ironic that we're so concerned about the well-being of a bunch of hens when you consider how much chicken we eat on this campus. If hens' quality of life is so important that we're willing to pay extra to have exclusively cage-free eggs, shouldn't we just be advocating to preserve their lives entirely?

The fact is that hens are raised for food, and the priority of farmers is to be productive and efficient. Unfortunately, that means that animals aren't always treated well. If we eliminated the demand for meat, it would no longer be an issue. But as long as people eat chicken and eggs, there will be farmers who cage their poultry.

On their posters advocating for cage-free eggs, the Real Food Coalition asked us what kind of society we are trying to promote by purchasing eggs from battery cage farms. But let's think about some broader issues for a moment.

In today's world, over 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 a day. Over 22,000 children die every day due to poverty. Nearly a billion people are illiterate. With all of these horrible things in the world, what kind of society are we trying to promote?

The Real Food Coalition has certainly shown us that we can make a real impact if we set our minds to it.

I do admire its ability to rally support for its cause. But what disturbs me the most is that so much time, effort and money is being spent trying to save hens while so much of humanity is suffering.

What if we put the same efforts into saving humanity? We could change the world. And then we could worry about chickens.