Cracking the Egg Industry

In light of the recent Easter holiday, I would like to pay tribute to one of it's major stars...no, not Jesus,...the next most important player...the egg. Remember the tagline from the campaign put out by the egg industry in the 90's, 'The incredible, edible egg'? The campaign that brought the public back from it's all encompassing fear of the egg and it's heart-stopping cholesterol levels? They did a fantastic job, the idea of the egg as a killer is a thing of the past.

Now it's touted as a pumped up protein vehicle delivering your body all of the nutrition it could possibly need! Truth be told eggs are a fantastic source of protein, vitamins, minerals and omega 3 fatty acid. They are easy, delicious and affordable. And if you are a vegetarian or infrequent meat eater they are your go-to source for protein.

Eggs are incredible, but, unfortunately the egg producers responsible for delivering those 'farm fresh' eggs to our local supermarkets are not incredible at all. The egg industry is fraught with factory farms that practice inhumane egg production.

The two most common ways to house hens are in battery cages or Cage-Free. Battery cages are truly a horrible life for a hen. They are placed in a small cage with 5-11 other hens, they can't spread their wings and often have their feet or heads and necks caught in the cage wires and die a slow death, being trampled, clawed and pecked by their cage mates and unable to reach food or water.

They become sick and stressed losing their feathers and sustaining injuries that don't heal. In order to keep the hens laying eggs beyond their natural cycle, they are starved of food and water for up to two weeks to induce molting. Often the dead birds remain in the cage with the live birds for weeks before an employee removes them.

An undercover video and report has recently been released showing a true look at the conditions and abuses of two of the largest egg producers in the country, Rose Acre Farms and Rembrandt Enterprises. I encourage you to watch this video, it isn't the most pleasant thing to see but it's worth watching. I think it is truly important for consumers to understand the reality behind the products they are buying.

Cage-Free is a term most of us are used to hearing and offers many of us some comfort when we make our egg purchase. But unfortunately this term doesn't truly mean the chicken's life is comfortable. The factory farms often get their hens from hatcheries where the male chicks are routinely discarded without being killed and the hen's are de-beaked, a painful mutilation where a portion of their beaks are cut off. Also Cage-Free means they are not in cages but are still crammed in large hen houses with no access to the out-doors. Here's a great link describing the basic differences between battery cages and cage-free.

Regardless of your position on animal welfare in the factory farming industry,
I would hazard a guess that no one would like to eat an egg that has rolled past, or perhaps over, the carcass of a dead bird (as seen in this picture taken from a video on the Humane Society website).

This image is just so contrary to the images we have of happy hens in front of a red farm house. And personally, I prescribe to the belief that because my food is energy, and it has come from a live animal or plant, it contains the energy of it's creator. If the bird that laid my egg lived a life full of pain and fear I honestly have to question if that effected the quality of the egg that I am putting in my body.

It's very challenging to truly know what you are getting when you buy your food. The messages on the packaging can be incredibly misleading. Here is a link though that can help you to decipher the different call outs on egg packaging, from 'Cage Free' to 'Natural'.

Don't forget too that the egg industry is no different than any other, and is looking to make a profit. This article is over a year old but is pretty disturbing. It discusses an allegation that the United Egg Producers were price fixing eggs by creating bogus animal welfare certification standards that allowed them to charge more for their product by misleading customers into thinking the product was more ethical than it really was.

Also, if you watched the video, you may choose not to purchase eggs from Rose Acre Farms until they make some changes. Here's a list of some of their brands to avoid. In the meantime many large companies like Mc Donalds and I-HOP are being pressured to switch to Cage-Free eggs. A cage-free life is by no means a good life for a chicken, but at least it's a step in the right direction and is better than a battery cage. You can call or write to any of these companies urging them to make the switch to Cage-Free eggs.

I believe humanely produced eggs are out there. I think it just requires a little bit of research. Go to your local farmers market and ask the farmers questions directly. Find out if they sell to local grocery stores if you aren't able to make it to the farmer's market. You can also ask if they supply to any local restaurants in your area.

I go to the Santa Monica farmer's market on the weekend to purchase my eggs. I buy from two different farms who sell there, Lily's Eggs & Healthy Family Farms and pay $4.25 - $4.50 for a dozen. This is a bit pricey, but I would rather pay more and eat less to keep smaller farms who are treating their animals with compassion in business, and provide myself with good karma food!

And if all of this hasn't convinced you yet, check out this site that lists the many benefits of eggs from pasture raised hens as opposed to factory farm confined hens!

This was a long post, but I feel it's an important one (aren't they all ;). Egg laying hen's are some of the most abused animals in the factory farming industry. I think this can change if we do a little research and as always, speak and vote with our dollars.

So, here's to healthier eggs and happier healthier hens!

Enjoy!