What Comes First: the Chickens or the Eggs?

 

Much of the locavore movement is focused on getting produce (vegetables and fruit) from local farms. Sourcing meat and eggs locally is often overlooked, but it is vitally important in improving animal welfare and supporting small-scale, diversified farms. 

Whenever animals are raised on a large scale, their quality of life can't be very great. When eggs are labeled as organic or as coming from "cage free" chickens, it means much less than the average consumer might imagine. Industrial is industrial, no matter what buzz-words are used to make it sound more palatable. 

For eggs to be organic, they just need to come from chickens that are fed certified organic feed. Certified organic feed does not contain GMOs and is grown without pesticides, so it is better than conventional feed -- but giving chickens organic feed rather than conventional feed doesn't affect the chickens' quality of life. The chickens can still be raised in cramped, inhumane conditions. 

"Cage free" eggs are somewhat better, but still not great. Instead of being raised in small cages, the chickens are raised in a large barn, often in very cramped conditions. Their beaks are often burned off so that they can't peck and injure each other. The fumes in these barns can be horrid from the build-up of ammonia. In most circumstances, the chickens never go outside or see the light of day. However, they walk around on bedding (i.e. wood chips) and get to lay eggs in nests instead of in cages. 

"Free range" eggs are similar to cage free eggs, except that the chickens are given the "opportunity" to go outside. Often this means that the large barn has a small door on one side that leads to a small, fenced outdoor area -- which could be a two foot square of concrete. This door to the outside may be closed for long periods of time, such as during the winter. As long as the chickens have the opportunity at some point to venture out the door, they can legally be considered "free range." In these industrial "free range" systems, most chickens never go outside "out of choice." 

Eggs that come from small farms where chickens are raised on pasture are nutritionally superior to grocery store eggs; they have more Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins, and less cholesterol. Why? The chickens roam around pasture by day, eating greens, weeds, and bugs. The chickens eat a more balanced diet and they get fresh air and exercise. It's simple: healthy, happly chickens make better eggs.