Organic eggsWhat are organic eggs? To receive the organic seal, hens must be fed organic food, have access to pasture, no hormones are used, and antibiotics are not given to hens unless there is an infectious outbreak. In contrast, conventional eggs are fed cheap, genetically modified grain and animal by-products, and are kept in hen houses that are crowded and very unclean, and never see the light of day. It's called factory farming and it stinks, literally.
Eggs in the store are labeled in many ways, like organic, free range, omega 3 eggs, and more. Recently Alan brought home a carton of organic eggs from "Vital Farms", and it has all kinds of claims on the carton. "Our happy hens are humanely raised outdoors!" Please eat ethical eggs From Antibiotic, free, grass eating hens. Pasture raised organic large Grade A-eggs. certified humane, kosher, and USDA organic. That's a lot of information to get on a carton! But what does it all mean? I went to their website and found they are treating the hens well. And happy hens make great organic eggs for us. Vital Farms, One of the Good Guys.
In addition to meeting organic standards, Vital Farms organic eggs has the certified humane seal, given by the humane farm animal care, a non profit organization dedicated to treating farm animals humanely. The seal means the product "meets the humane farm animal care standards, which include nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones, animals raised with shelter, resting areas, sufficient space and the ability to engage in natural behaviors". Pasture raised means the hens live outside. The birds have less stress, they are grass fed, and the eggs have a thick, dark yolk. Vital Farms received a "5 egg" exemplary rating from the Cornucopia Institute. The Cornucopia Institute The Cornucopia Institute supports the small organic farms, and are watchdogs for the organic food industry. As Organics become more popular, big industrial farms want a piece of the market. This is called "industrial organics" and it's a danger to the small family farm. The Cornucopia Institute recently published a report on organic egg production. It is a mixed picture. In general, The large industrial organic egg producers are cutting corners, while the small farms are the true heroes. And there are the private labels, where you cant' tell what is really going on! On the Cornucopia website, they compiled information from the producers and created an egg scorecard, where 5 eggs is exemplary, 1 egg is poor. I see three kinds of egg producers, Those I call true heroes, who are following the law, the industrial organic, who are skirting the law, and the private labels, who won't tell, its private! Here's the cornucopia institute website. Industrial Organic Eggs This is organics done in an agribusiness way. They may feed the hens organic food, but they still crowd them into unclean houses without sunlight or nature. Many of the giant factory farmed organic eggs are produced in huge hen houses holding thousands of birds with no access to the outdoors. They may provide a tiny concrete porch, tacked on to the hen house, as the "access to pasture". What a joke! Most of the hens will never reach it.
Hens need to forage. The European Union and the state of California have outlawed factory farms for hens as inhumane. One popular industrial organic brand is Egglands. Omega 3 Eggs When hens eat grass, plants and bugs in the soil, they produce Omega 3 eggs. When they are caged with no access to pasture, their eggs are low in omega 3. But there are omega 3 enriched eggs, produced by industrial farms, where hens still live in confinement but receive flax seed in their feed. So its a better egg for Omega 3 content, but still bad for the hens. Hens fed flax seeds produce eggs that have Omega 6 to Omega 3 in a 2 to 1 ratio, which is what our bodies need for health. Conventional eggs have this ratio at 20 to 1! The True Heroes These farms get a rating of 3 to 5 eggs, from good, excellent to exemplary. My eggs, Vital Farms, get a 5 star rating. Go to the vital farms website and be inspired. This is what farming should be. Other true heroes are small, local organic farms. small organic farmers care about the land and the animals. Otherwise they would not be small organic farmers!
What about Whole Foods Market? Whole Foods Market has been an industry leader in organics. So why is their 365 brand given one egg (a poor rating)? Because their "365 brand" is a private label. With a private label, we don't know where the food comes from. And cornucopia Institute says their research shows that the vast majority of private labels brands are produced on industrial farms. But, Whole Foods Market is carrying Vital Farms eggs. So it is up to us, the consumer to know about the food we choose. Other private labels include Trader Joes, Central Market, O Organic (Safeway label), Kirkland Signature (Cosco label), Great Value (Walmart label). Organic Valley This is a big name in organics. It sells mostly dairy and gets a good rating for its dairy. But with eggs, its a mixed bag. The Organic valley is a co-op where many farmers contribute. The management was not willing to participate in the information release for cornucopia, but individual farmers from the co-op were. Most egg producers were true hero farmers, but one in California was an industrial farm, where hens had no access to pasture. So Organic Valley is a mixed bag. Still, Cornucopia gave them 3 egg rating, meaning "very good".. The bottom line: buy small, local, and organic. Go to Cornucopia and check out the scorecard for the eggs you buy, or buy from a local farmer at the farmer's market. Yes, you will pay more for your eggs. But it's a vote for the kind of future you want to create for yourself, for animals, farm workers and our planet. There is a new idea called the triple bottom line: good for the environment, the workers and the profits. And in this case, the hens!
Return from organic eggs to home page More articles on organic living: The locavore, eat what is local! What is GMO food, and is it safe? Permaculture, a new holistic way to garden It's time to choose green agriculture to save the bees |
