Showing posts with label Eggs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eggs. Show all posts
11/17/12
9/2/10
With Salmonella, It's A Chicken-Or-Egg Conundrum - NPR
Courtesy of John Ingraham
Eggs themselves are remarkably resistant to germs like salmonella. The shell and proteins in the egg white normally do a good job of fending off pathogens. But eggs laid by a bird infected with salmonella will likely be infected, too.
"Eggs have been getting a bad rap lately as the number of people being made sick by eggs contaminated with salmonella continues to rise. But from an egg's point of view all of this is a bit unfair. Eggs get contaminated because the hen that's laying them is infected. Eggs themselves — if they come from a healthy bird — are remarkably resistant to contamination.
John Ingraham is particularly interested in how eggs stay microbe-free. He is a microbiologist and a chicken owner, and he happens to be my grandfather. He has spent years exploring the world of tiny organisms and so-called "retirement" hasn't changed that.
About a dozen chickens strut and peck in a large chicken coop tucked in between the clothes line and the gleaming pool in Ingraham's back yard in suburban Sacramento. They're quite vocal, and Ingraham points out the distinctive cackle that means one has laid an egg. They sound quite proud of the accomplishment."
READ and LISTEN to whole article here
2/28/10
Sorting Through the Claims of the Boastful Egg - NYT 9
Hat tip to @jambutter
First, the basics:
egg grades — given by the United States Department of Agriculture or other agencies — depend mainly on the firmness of the whites. AA eggs hold their shape in the pan a bit better than Grade A eggs. (Grade B eggs, for processed foods, are rarely sold in stores.) Egg sizes, like large or jumbo, are based on the weight of a dozen eggs. Then things get confusing.
The easiest way to ensure truth in labeling is to look for cartons bearing the National Organic Program emblem (a circular seal with “U.S.D.A.” over what looks like a field), any of the animal-welfare-related labels described below, or the U.S.D.A. shield (which looks like an interstate highway sign and which indicates the eggs’ grade). The organic and animal welfare programs require that producers be audited by third-party certifiers. The U.S.D.A. shield, which can be found on about 35 percent of eggs in the market, means that the agriculture department is auditing the eggs’ producers at least once a year to verify that their claims are true.
Definitions for some other common terms on egg cartons are below. Keep in mind that the agriculture department’s rules apply only to eggs with the department’s shield. For eggs that are not a part of its grading program, either state rules apply or the use of the phrase is unregulated.
How Birds Are Raised
CAGE FREE The agriculture department says this means that the chickens were kept out of cages and had continuous access to food and water, but did not necessarily have access to the outdoors.
FREE RANGE The agriculture department says that in addition to meeting the cage-free standards, free-range birds must have continuous access to the outdoors, unless there’s a health risk present. There are no standards, though, for what that outdoor area must be like. (A concrete lot could do.)
PASTURE-RAISED There is no regulation of this term, which implies hens got at least part of their food from foraging on greens and bugs, which adherents say can improve flavor. Some studies have found that pasture-raised eggs have more nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin E and beta carotene, and less saturated fat and cholesterol.
ANIMAL CARE LABELS Four main terms indicate the level of care hens received.
For eggs from chickens that live in the sort of utopia conveyed by the images on most egg cartons, look for “animal welfare approved.” Available in limited markets, it is a new label by the Animal Welfare Institute that is given only to independent family farmers. Flocks can have no more than 500 birds, and chickens over 4 weeks old must be able to spend all their time outside on pesticide-free pasture with a variety of vegetation. They must have access to dust baths and cannot have their beaks trimmed (a practice on crowded egg farms) or be fed animal byproducts.
READ MORE HERE
IT used to be, an egg was an egg.
Now they can be cage free and free range, vegetarian and omega-3 fortified, organic, “certified humane” or “American humane certified.” The incredible, edible egg is becoming unintelligible.
Some claims on egg cartons are regulated by the federal government, some by the states and some not at all. Some affect consumers’ health, some touch upon ethics and some are meaningless.
All purport to describe how the hens were raised, or what they were fed, or what extra benefits their eggs might provide.
So, what do these terms mean?
egg grades — given by the United States Department of Agriculture or other agencies — depend mainly on the firmness of the whites. AA eggs hold their shape in the pan a bit better than Grade A eggs. (Grade B eggs, for processed foods, are rarely sold in stores.) Egg sizes, like large or jumbo, are based on the weight of a dozen eggs. Then things get confusing.
The easiest way to ensure truth in labeling is to look for cartons bearing the National Organic Program emblem (a circular seal with “U.S.D.A.” over what looks like a field), any of the animal-welfare-related labels described below, or the U.S.D.A. shield (which looks like an interstate highway sign and which indicates the eggs’ grade). The organic and animal welfare programs require that producers be audited by third-party certifiers. The U.S.D.A. shield, which can be found on about 35 percent of eggs in the market, means that the agriculture department is auditing the eggs’ producers at least once a year to verify that their claims are true.
Definitions for some other common terms on egg cartons are below. Keep in mind that the agriculture department’s rules apply only to eggs with the department’s shield. For eggs that are not a part of its grading program, either state rules apply or the use of the phrase is unregulated.
How Birds Are Raised
CAGE FREE The agriculture department says this means that the chickens were kept out of cages and had continuous access to food and water, but did not necessarily have access to the outdoors.
FREE RANGE The agriculture department says that in addition to meeting the cage-free standards, free-range birds must have continuous access to the outdoors, unless there’s a health risk present. There are no standards, though, for what that outdoor area must be like. (A concrete lot could do.)
PASTURE-RAISED There is no regulation of this term, which implies hens got at least part of their food from foraging on greens and bugs, which adherents say can improve flavor. Some studies have found that pasture-raised eggs have more nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin E and beta carotene, and less saturated fat and cholesterol.
ANIMAL CARE LABELS Four main terms indicate the level of care hens received.
For eggs from chickens that live in the sort of utopia conveyed by the images on most egg cartons, look for “animal welfare approved.” Available in limited markets, it is a new label by the Animal Welfare Institute that is given only to independent family farmers. Flocks can have no more than 500 birds, and chickens over 4 weeks old must be able to spend all their time outside on pesticide-free pasture with a variety of vegetation. They must have access to dust baths and cannot have their beaks trimmed (a practice on crowded egg farms) or be fed animal byproducts.
READ MORE HERE
1/6/10
12/14/09
11/30/09
Barn-Raising - from NYT
"Koefoed said that she has done everything backward and nothing by the book. The eggs came first: she raised them for her family on their 55-acre farm beginning in 2005 and sold some in the neighborhood. “Eventually it sort of dawned on me: Wow, this might be a nice little business.” She left her job at Havens Wine Cellars to farm full time, but things kicked in when a friend who was a sous chef at Chez Panisse took Koefoed’s eggs to work. The vibrant yolks and clean, grass-fed flavor won over the kitchen. Today the restaurant buys up to 100 dozen a week.
Then came the chickens. Alice Waters and one of her head chefs called a year into their relationship to ask Koefoed if she would raise birds for meat. “I said, ‘Nooooo!’ ” she recalled. “Then I hung up the phone and said: ‘Ugh! Of all the stupid things you have said — in your life — that may be the stupidest thing.’ ” She called back and told them she’d do it. “I was like: ‘No problem! Total breeze!’ and then the next day I ran down to the library and bookstore and bought every book I could find on pasture-raised meat birds and figured it out.”
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE
6/7/09
My Twitter poll
Can you taste the difference between mass produced eggs and locally farmed eggs? http://twtpoll.com/v99d8c
VOTE HERE, please
Nutritional value of Pastured Eggs
Pastured Eggs
Grass-fed/pastured hens are raised on pasture, as opposed to being kept in confinement and fed primarily grains. Eggs from pastured hens contain up to 20 times more healthy omega-3 fatty acids than those their less fortunate cousins, factory hens.
Pastured hens' diets are naturally complemented with bugs, earthworms, and other such critters that give their eggs a huge nutritious oomph. Although not necessarilly organic, pastured hens are usually much healthier and happier than their space-restricted and antibiotic-pumped industrial cousins.
Pasturing is the traditional method of raising egg-laying hens and other poultry. It is ecologically sustainable, humane, and produces the tastiest, most nutritious eggs.
Pastured eggs also have 10 percent less fat, 40 percent more vitamin A, and 34 percent less cholesterol than eggs obtained from factory farms.
Grass-fed/pastured hens are raised on pasture, as opposed to being kept in confinement and fed primarily grains. Eggs from pastured hens contain up to 20 times more healthy omega-3 fatty acids than those their less fortunate cousins, factory hens.
Pastured hens' diets are naturally complemented with bugs, earthworms, and other such critters that give their eggs a huge nutritious oomph. Although not necessarilly organic, pastured hens are usually much healthier and happier than their space-restricted and antibiotic-pumped industrial cousins.
Pasturing is the traditional method of raising egg-laying hens and other poultry. It is ecologically sustainable, humane, and produces the tastiest, most nutritious eggs.
Pastured eggs also have 10 percent less fat, 40 percent more vitamin A, and 34 percent less cholesterol than eggs obtained from factory farms.
Egg Economics - Gourment 4/09
Perhaps some things in life shouldn’t be cheaper by the dozen. A North Carolina chef takes a look at the real cost of food—and flavor.
eggs
Last summer at a raucous farmers market in Santa Cruz, California (dueling drum circles), I was thrilled to discover the most expensive eggs I had ever seen—six dollars a dozen. I was thrilled because farmers I know in North Carolina often struggle to convince new customers to pay four or five dollars a dozen, even though that price barely covers their costs.
Chickens and eggs raised on small, sustainable farms seem relatively expensive because their production requires what economists call market inefficiencies: fair wages and working conditions for farm workers; humane standards for the animals, including reliance on more flavorful heritage breeds that can thrive outside cages; locally grown grain to supplement their forage that is less dependent on fossil fuels and grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides; and the labor-intensive gathering of eggs by hand. But these “inefficiencies,” which reflect the real cost of rational food production, are at the heart of a farming system that should work for us instead of against us.
Price aside, most skeptical buyers are converts from the first egg sandwich. Demand for eggs from chickens raised the old-fashioned way—outdoors on pasture—is at an all-time high as we start to recognize that supporting local food production is the most practical solution for many of the problems inherent in agriculture today. There is also more than one way to calculate value: You can argue, for instance, that real farm eggs are actually cheaper than their factory cousins if considered from a nutritional standpoint: To get the amount of beta-carotene present in one pastured egg, for instance, you would have to eat seven from a factory farm*, according to the 2007 Mother Earth News egg testing project.
But eggs from the farmers at my local market, in Carrboro, North Carolina, usually sell out by eight o’clock in the morning for a simpler reason: They taste like nothing else—rich, herbal, and earthy, all at once. A couple of real farm eggs have the power to become a satisfying instant meal with the addition of a few other ingredients or just a pat of butter and a thin slice of crisp toast. And as we hand over our four, five, or six dollars for a dozen eggs to the person who raised them, we don’t just help support and feed the farmers and their hens, but also their land and the place we live. Now that’s a bargain.
*For every one egg you eat from a pastured hen, you would also have to eat three factory eggs to get the same amount of vitamin E and five for as much vitamin D. All the while, each additional conventional egg you eat will be giving you one third more cholesterol.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-10-01/Tests-Reveal-Healthier-Eggs.aspx.
eggs
Last summer at a raucous farmers market in Santa Cruz, California (dueling drum circles), I was thrilled to discover the most expensive eggs I had ever seen—six dollars a dozen. I was thrilled because farmers I know in North Carolina often struggle to convince new customers to pay four or five dollars a dozen, even though that price barely covers their costs.
Chickens and eggs raised on small, sustainable farms seem relatively expensive because their production requires what economists call market inefficiencies: fair wages and working conditions for farm workers; humane standards for the animals, including reliance on more flavorful heritage breeds that can thrive outside cages; locally grown grain to supplement their forage that is less dependent on fossil fuels and grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides; and the labor-intensive gathering of eggs by hand. But these “inefficiencies,” which reflect the real cost of rational food production, are at the heart of a farming system that should work for us instead of against us.
Price aside, most skeptical buyers are converts from the first egg sandwich. Demand for eggs from chickens raised the old-fashioned way—outdoors on pasture—is at an all-time high as we start to recognize that supporting local food production is the most practical solution for many of the problems inherent in agriculture today. There is also more than one way to calculate value: You can argue, for instance, that real farm eggs are actually cheaper than their factory cousins if considered from a nutritional standpoint: To get the amount of beta-carotene present in one pastured egg, for instance, you would have to eat seven from a factory farm*, according to the 2007 Mother Earth News egg testing project.
But eggs from the farmers at my local market, in Carrboro, North Carolina, usually sell out by eight o’clock in the morning for a simpler reason: They taste like nothing else—rich, herbal, and earthy, all at once. A couple of real farm eggs have the power to become a satisfying instant meal with the addition of a few other ingredients or just a pat of butter and a thin slice of crisp toast. And as we hand over our four, five, or six dollars for a dozen eggs to the person who raised them, we don’t just help support and feed the farmers and their hens, but also their land and the place we live. Now that’s a bargain.
*For every one egg you eat from a pastured hen, you would also have to eat three factory eggs to get the same amount of vitamin E and five for as much vitamin D. All the while, each additional conventional egg you eat will be giving you one third more cholesterol.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-10-01/Tests-Reveal-Healthier-Eggs.aspx.
5/27/09
Nutritional Value of Eggs
Eggs from pastured hens are far richer in vitamin D
Eggs from hens raised outdoors on pasture have from three to six times more vitamin D than eggs from hens raised in confinement. Pastured hens are exposed to direct sunlight, which their bodies convert to vitamin D and then pass on to the eggs.
Vitamin D is best known for its role in building strong bones. New research shows that it can also enhance the immune system, improve mood, reduce blood pressure, combat cancer, and reduce the risk of some autoimmune disorders.
This latest good news about eggs comes from a study just released by Mother Earth News, a magazine that plays a leading role in promoting health-enhancing, natural foods. The editors found that eating just two eggs will give you from 63-126% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin D.
Note that this benefit comes only from hens that are free to graze fresh greens, eat bugs, and bask in the sun. Most of the eggs sold in the supermarket do not meet this criterion. Even though the label says that the eggs are “certified organic” or come from “uncaged” or “free-range” hens or from hens fed an “all-vegetarian” diet, this is no guarantee that the hens had access to the outdoors or pasture.
Look for eggs from “pastured” hens. You are most likely to find these superior eggs at farmer’s markets or natural food stores.
Better yet, purchase them directly from your local farmer. Click on the following link, then scroll down to the yellow map of the United States. Click on your state. Find eggs from pastured hens on eatwild.com
CLICK HERE for more info on the nutrition of eggs
Eggs from hens raised outdoors on pasture have from three to six times more vitamin D than eggs from hens raised in confinement. Pastured hens are exposed to direct sunlight, which their bodies convert to vitamin D and then pass on to the eggs.
Vitamin D is best known for its role in building strong bones. New research shows that it can also enhance the immune system, improve mood, reduce blood pressure, combat cancer, and reduce the risk of some autoimmune disorders.
This latest good news about eggs comes from a study just released by Mother Earth News, a magazine that plays a leading role in promoting health-enhancing, natural foods. The editors found that eating just two eggs will give you from 63-126% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin D.
Note that this benefit comes only from hens that are free to graze fresh greens, eat bugs, and bask in the sun. Most of the eggs sold in the supermarket do not meet this criterion. Even though the label says that the eggs are “certified organic” or come from “uncaged” or “free-range” hens or from hens fed an “all-vegetarian” diet, this is no guarantee that the hens had access to the outdoors or pasture.
Look for eggs from “pastured” hens. You are most likely to find these superior eggs at farmer’s markets or natural food stores.
Better yet, purchase them directly from your local farmer. Click on the following link, then scroll down to the yellow map of the United States. Click on your state. Find eggs from pastured hens on eatwild.com
CLICK HERE for more info on the nutrition of eggs
5/25/09
Eggs Aren't Just for Breakfast Anymore
Thank you @birdsofafeather for sending this to me!
When i was in my early 20s, my good buddy McGee generously moved to a penthouse apartment in Paris for three years. On the first of my (numerous) visits, we went out for "French" pizza, and when it arrived, I was a tad unnerved to find that it was crowned with a fried egg. Now, the two of us had eaten plenty of eggs together-but we usually did so at, say, 3 in the morning, at the Waffle House, and I was unaccustomed to seeing them on a plate with anything other than bacon and toast.
All that changed in France, where eggs are lavished on everything. With the addition of a fried egg and a bit of béchamel, a croque monsieur becomes a croque madame. Eggs top steaks, float in soups and nestle in frisée salads tossed with lardons. They come poached with red wine or bone-marrow sauces. They appear as omelets with fines herbes or ratatouille.
Twenty-five years later, Americans are finally catching on to the fact that eggs are not just for breakfast. The egg-and-frisée craze was the first to take hold on this side of the Atlantic (thanks, in large part, to Manhattan bistro-and-brasserie king Keith McNally), but now, in this era of belt tightening and green chic, chefs are getting more creative. Danny Meyer has been offering egg dishes at his six New York restaurants, with $2 from each dish going to City Harvest, an organization that helps feed the city's hungry. The egg, says Meyer, is "a universal symbol of hope and renewal, as well as a blank canvas on which each chef can express himself." At Meyer's upscale barbecue joint, Blue Smoke, there's a Fried Egg and Pea Shoot Salad With Candied Bacon and Pickled Ramps. At Gramercy Tavern, chef Michael Anthony serves a Norwich Meadow Farm Egg Crepe With Grilled Ramps and Crab.
With more conscientious restaurateurs, and the influx of farmers' markets, consumers are discovering the superior taste of farm-raised eggs-much in the way we were previously turned on to free-range chicken, grass-fed beef and heritage breeds of pork. Birmingham, Ala., chef Frank Stitt keeps 60 laying hens at his Paradise Farm, where they dine on grass, insects and vegetable scraps from his restaurants, as opposed to the grain that commercially bred caged chickens eat. (Chickens that are fed grass-based diets tend to lay eggs that are higher in beneficial omega-3 fatty acids.) Stitt notices a big difference between the eggs from his happy chickens-he has one friend he calls the "chicken whisperer," who talks to the birds and holds them in his lap-and those that are mass produced. "The yolk," he says, "is taller and stronger and such a vibrant orange, and the flavor is so pure and wholesome." Not to mention that his Araucanas, Buff Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds produce "wonderful sounds," says Stitt, "like the roosters crowing in the background of Tom Waits records."
On the bar at one of Stitt's establishments, Chez Fonfon, he offers hard-boiled eggs, free, in the style of French bistros; diners peel them and sprinkle them with kosher salt. Stitt's new cookbook, Bottega Favorita, contains a recipe for a fabulous salad in which pancetta-spiked scrambled eggs are tossed with young lettuces in a sherry vinaigrette. Even the lowly stuffed egg, long a Deep South staple at picnics and church suppers, is now appearing on menus. At my friend Joe Ledbetter's new Nashville-based chain, Bricktop's, you can order a plate of stuffed (or deviled) eggs as a side, and in New Orleans, chef Donald Link offers eggs stuffed with shrimp alongside a salad. "Stuffed eggs are everybody's favorite," says Link, who grew up in southwest Louisiana. "What party have you ever been to when there were any left on the table?" Link is branching out. At his flagship, Herbsaint, there's an amazing spaghetti with guanciale and a fried poached farm egg. The secret: refrigerate a soft-poached egg before dipping it in flour, beaten eggs and bread crumbs-and then put it in the deep fryer.
By Julia Reed, NEWSWEEK
Saturday, May 16, 2009
When i was in my early 20s, my good buddy McGee generously moved to a penthouse apartment in Paris for three years. On the first of my (numerous) visits, we went out for "French" pizza, and when it arrived, I was a tad unnerved to find that it was crowned with a fried egg. Now, the two of us had eaten plenty of eggs together-but we usually did so at, say, 3 in the morning, at the Waffle House, and I was unaccustomed to seeing them on a plate with anything other than bacon and toast.
All that changed in France, where eggs are lavished on everything. With the addition of a fried egg and a bit of béchamel, a croque monsieur becomes a croque madame. Eggs top steaks, float in soups and nestle in frisée salads tossed with lardons. They come poached with red wine or bone-marrow sauces. They appear as omelets with fines herbes or ratatouille.
Twenty-five years later, Americans are finally catching on to the fact that eggs are not just for breakfast. The egg-and-frisée craze was the first to take hold on this side of the Atlantic (thanks, in large part, to Manhattan bistro-and-brasserie king Keith McNally), but now, in this era of belt tightening and green chic, chefs are getting more creative. Danny Meyer has been offering egg dishes at his six New York restaurants, with $2 from each dish going to City Harvest, an organization that helps feed the city's hungry. The egg, says Meyer, is "a universal symbol of hope and renewal, as well as a blank canvas on which each chef can express himself." At Meyer's upscale barbecue joint, Blue Smoke, there's a Fried Egg and Pea Shoot Salad With Candied Bacon and Pickled Ramps. At Gramercy Tavern, chef Michael Anthony serves a Norwich Meadow Farm Egg Crepe With Grilled Ramps and Crab.
With more conscientious restaurateurs, and the influx of farmers' markets, consumers are discovering the superior taste of farm-raised eggs-much in the way we were previously turned on to free-range chicken, grass-fed beef and heritage breeds of pork. Birmingham, Ala., chef Frank Stitt keeps 60 laying hens at his Paradise Farm, where they dine on grass, insects and vegetable scraps from his restaurants, as opposed to the grain that commercially bred caged chickens eat. (Chickens that are fed grass-based diets tend to lay eggs that are higher in beneficial omega-3 fatty acids.) Stitt notices a big difference between the eggs from his happy chickens-he has one friend he calls the "chicken whisperer," who talks to the birds and holds them in his lap-and those that are mass produced. "The yolk," he says, "is taller and stronger and such a vibrant orange, and the flavor is so pure and wholesome." Not to mention that his Araucanas, Buff Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds produce "wonderful sounds," says Stitt, "like the roosters crowing in the background of Tom Waits records."
On the bar at one of Stitt's establishments, Chez Fonfon, he offers hard-boiled eggs, free, in the style of French bistros; diners peel them and sprinkle them with kosher salt. Stitt's new cookbook, Bottega Favorita, contains a recipe for a fabulous salad in which pancetta-spiked scrambled eggs are tossed with young lettuces in a sherry vinaigrette. Even the lowly stuffed egg, long a Deep South staple at picnics and church suppers, is now appearing on menus. At my friend Joe Ledbetter's new Nashville-based chain, Bricktop's, you can order a plate of stuffed (or deviled) eggs as a side, and in New Orleans, chef Donald Link offers eggs stuffed with shrimp alongside a salad. "Stuffed eggs are everybody's favorite," says Link, who grew up in southwest Louisiana. "What party have you ever been to when there were any left on the table?" Link is branching out. At his flagship, Herbsaint, there's an amazing spaghetti with guanciale and a fried poached farm egg. The secret: refrigerate a soft-poached egg before dipping it in flour, beaten eggs and bread crumbs-and then put it in the deep fryer.
By Julia Reed, NEWSWEEK
Saturday, May 16, 2009
5/22/09
Check out my twitter poll! Please vote
Can you taste the difference between mass produced eggs & locally farmed eggs?
http://twtpoll.com/v99d8c
http://twtpoll.com/v99d8c
5/17/09
Reading Egg Cartons
"The vast number of consumer labels affixed to egg cartons can leave a shopper feeling as dazed and confused as a laying hen trapped in a battery cage. One carton may label its eggs "Natural." Another carton may call them "Free Range," while yet another may claim its eggs are "Certified Organic." How are thoughtful consumers supposed to know what these labels and claims really mean?
The truth is that the majority of egg labels have little relevance to animal welfare or, if they do, they have no official standards nor any mechanism to enforce them. Only three labels listed below are programs with official, audited guidelines, but even those vary widely in terms of animal welfare. Those three are marked with an asterisk (*).
Certified Organic*:
The birds are uncaged inside barns or warehouses, and are required to have outdoor access (although there have been concerns about lax enforcement, with some large-scale producers not providing birds meaningful access to the outdoors). They are fed an organic, all-vegetarian diet free of antibiotics and pesticides, as required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program. Debeaking and forced molting through starvation are permitted. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing.
Free-Range:
While the USDA has defined the meaning of "free-range" for some poultry products, there are no standards in "free-range" egg production. Typically, free-range egg-laying hens are uncaged inside barns or warehouses and have some degree of outdoor access. They can engage in many natural behaviors such as nesting and foraging. However, there is no information on stocking density, the frequency or duration of outdoor access, or the quality of the land accessible to the birds. There is no information regarding what the birds can be fed. Debeaking and forced molting through starvation may be permitted. There is no third-party auditing.
Certified Humane*:
The birds are uncaged inside barns or warehouses, but may be kept indoors at all times. They must be able to perform natural behaviors such as nesting, perching, and dust bathing. There are requirements for stocking density and number of perches and nesting boxes. Forced molting through starvation is prohibited, but debeaking is allowed. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing. Certified Humane is a program of Humane Farm Animal Care.
Cage-Free:
As the term implies, hens laying eggs labeled as "cage-free" are uncaged inside barns or warehouses, but generally do not have access to the outdoors. They have the ability to engage in many of their natural behaviors such as walking, nesting, and spreading their wings. Debeaking and forced molting through starvation are permitted. There is no third-party auditing.
Free-Roaming:
Also known as "free-range," the USDA has defined this claim for some poultry products, but there are no standards in "free-roaming" egg production. This essentially means the hens are cage-free. There is no third-party auditing.
United Egg Producers Certified*:
The overwhelming majority of the U.S. egg industry complies with this voluntary program, which permits routine cruel and inhumane factory farm practices. By 2008, hens laying these eggs will be afforded 67 square inches of cage space per bird, less area than a sheet of paper. The hens may be confined in restrictive, barren cages and limiting their ability to perform many of their natural behaviors, including perching, nesting, foraging or even spreading their wings. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing. Forced molting through starvation is prohibited, but debeaking is allowed. This is a program of the United Egg Producers.
Vegetarian-Fed:
These birds are provided a more natural feed than that received by most laying hens, but this label does not have significant relevance to the animals’ living conditions.
Natural:
Currently there is no legal definition of “natural” as it relates to food products. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture any food that contains “no artificial ingredients or added color and are no more than minimally processed,” may be considered “natural.”
Fertile:
These eggs were laid by hens who lived with roosters, meaning they most likely were not caged.
Omega-3 Enriched:
Eggs carrying this label have a higher content of omega-3 fatty acids than other eggs. This is achieved by mixing flaxseed, a grain high in omega-3s, into the hen’s feed.
Source:
The Humane Society of the United States. A Brief Guide to Egg Carton Labels and Their Relevance to Animal Welfare. March 2007.
The truth is that the majority of egg labels have little relevance to animal welfare or, if they do, they have no official standards nor any mechanism to enforce them. Only three labels listed below are programs with official, audited guidelines, but even those vary widely in terms of animal welfare. Those three are marked with an asterisk (*).
Certified Organic*:
The birds are uncaged inside barns or warehouses, and are required to have outdoor access (although there have been concerns about lax enforcement, with some large-scale producers not providing birds meaningful access to the outdoors). They are fed an organic, all-vegetarian diet free of antibiotics and pesticides, as required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program. Debeaking and forced molting through starvation are permitted. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing.
Free-Range:
While the USDA has defined the meaning of "free-range" for some poultry products, there are no standards in "free-range" egg production. Typically, free-range egg-laying hens are uncaged inside barns or warehouses and have some degree of outdoor access. They can engage in many natural behaviors such as nesting and foraging. However, there is no information on stocking density, the frequency or duration of outdoor access, or the quality of the land accessible to the birds. There is no information regarding what the birds can be fed. Debeaking and forced molting through starvation may be permitted. There is no third-party auditing.
Certified Humane*:
The birds are uncaged inside barns or warehouses, but may be kept indoors at all times. They must be able to perform natural behaviors such as nesting, perching, and dust bathing. There are requirements for stocking density and number of perches and nesting boxes. Forced molting through starvation is prohibited, but debeaking is allowed. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing. Certified Humane is a program of Humane Farm Animal Care.
Cage-Free:
As the term implies, hens laying eggs labeled as "cage-free" are uncaged inside barns or warehouses, but generally do not have access to the outdoors. They have the ability to engage in many of their natural behaviors such as walking, nesting, and spreading their wings. Debeaking and forced molting through starvation are permitted. There is no third-party auditing.
Free-Roaming:
Also known as "free-range," the USDA has defined this claim for some poultry products, but there are no standards in "free-roaming" egg production. This essentially means the hens are cage-free. There is no third-party auditing.
United Egg Producers Certified*:
The overwhelming majority of the U.S. egg industry complies with this voluntary program, which permits routine cruel and inhumane factory farm practices. By 2008, hens laying these eggs will be afforded 67 square inches of cage space per bird, less area than a sheet of paper. The hens may be confined in restrictive, barren cages and limiting their ability to perform many of their natural behaviors, including perching, nesting, foraging or even spreading their wings. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing. Forced molting through starvation is prohibited, but debeaking is allowed. This is a program of the United Egg Producers.
Vegetarian-Fed:
These birds are provided a more natural feed than that received by most laying hens, but this label does not have significant relevance to the animals’ living conditions.
Natural:
Currently there is no legal definition of “natural” as it relates to food products. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture any food that contains “no artificial ingredients or added color and are no more than minimally processed,” may be considered “natural.”
Fertile:
These eggs were laid by hens who lived with roosters, meaning they most likely were not caged.
Omega-3 Enriched:
Eggs carrying this label have a higher content of omega-3 fatty acids than other eggs. This is achieved by mixing flaxseed, a grain high in omega-3s, into the hen’s feed.
Source:
The Humane Society of the United States. A Brief Guide to Egg Carton Labels and Their Relevance to Animal Welfare. March 2007.
Egg Facts
"THE AVERAGE AMERICAN eats about 175 “shell eggs”—the kind you buy by the dozen at the market—a year, or about one every two days. Most of these are produced in egg factories by hens crammed into cages. But those of us who buy organic get eggs that are qualitatively different from the factory sort.
Because of the abundant minerals and natural foods in the organic hen’s diet, organic eggs’ shells are thick and smooth. When you crack them open, the yolk is a richly colored dark orange due to an abundance of beta-carotene and stands up tall above the white. Again, because of the hen’s natural diet, the white is gelatinous, with substance—it doesn’t just spill out across the pan or bowl. It has a light greenish-yellow tint that indicates it’s high in riboflavin. It has prominent chalazae, the thick white place in albumin strings that center the yolk in the shell.
The first time I used fresh organic eggs from free-range hens I had to separate four eggs. I remember that the whites were not runny, but clear and viscous, holding together in a thick, jelly-like mass. The yolks were deep orange and gave the batter of the cake I was making a rich, warm color. The yolks were also plump, standing up in the bowl before I beat them into the batter with a fork. They were thick and clung to the tines of the fork, so I had to squeeze the tines with my fingers to get the last of the yolks off the fork. They clung to my fingers, they were that thick and sticky. There is no substitute for eggs like these.
Compare these against eggs from a factory farm, where hens spend their lives cooped up in tiny cages under 24-hour-a-day lighting, fed genetically modified and pesticide-sprayed corn, and routinely treated with antibiotics to prevent the diseases that would otherwise flourish in these smelly, noisy, inhumane conditions. I’ve been in such egg factories, and they are a vision of chicken hell. Forced to lay too many eggs, fed as cheaply as possible, and living in unnatural conditions, factory hens lay eggs that may have rough and ridged shells, loose light yellow yolks, and watery whites. In the kitchen, this translates into poor performance in what eggs are supposed to do: bind ingredients, add body, and support light, well-risen cakes, among other functions.
The organic farm, however, is much closer to chicken heaven. According to the standards for the National Organic Program, “All organically raised animals must have access to the outdoors.… They may be temporarily confined only for reasons of health, safety, the animal’s stage of production, or to protect soil or water quality.”
This means that organic eggs come from hens with a scratch yard. Notice it says they can be shut in the henhouse only temporarily—in other words, they are truly free-range birds. That doesn’t mean they can fly out of the scratch yard and start living under the hydrangea. Laying hens and roosters usually have their flight feathers clipped so they can’t fly. Humane treatment, healthy diet, and lack of stress translate into organic eggs that perform beautifully in the kitchen, including functions such as coagulation, foaming, emulsification, and browning.
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Because of the abundant minerals and natural foods in the organic hen’s diet, organic eggs’ shells are thick and smooth. When you crack them open, the yolk is a richly colored dark orange due to an abundance of beta-carotene and stands up tall above the white. Again, because of the hen’s natural diet, the white is gelatinous, with substance—it doesn’t just spill out across the pan or bowl. It has a light greenish-yellow tint that indicates it’s high in riboflavin. It has prominent chalazae, the thick white place in albumin strings that center the yolk in the shell.
The first time I used fresh organic eggs from free-range hens I had to separate four eggs. I remember that the whites were not runny, but clear and viscous, holding together in a thick, jelly-like mass. The yolks were deep orange and gave the batter of the cake I was making a rich, warm color. The yolks were also plump, standing up in the bowl before I beat them into the batter with a fork. They were thick and clung to the tines of the fork, so I had to squeeze the tines with my fingers to get the last of the yolks off the fork. They clung to my fingers, they were that thick and sticky. There is no substitute for eggs like these.
Compare these against eggs from a factory farm, where hens spend their lives cooped up in tiny cages under 24-hour-a-day lighting, fed genetically modified and pesticide-sprayed corn, and routinely treated with antibiotics to prevent the diseases that would otherwise flourish in these smelly, noisy, inhumane conditions. I’ve been in such egg factories, and they are a vision of chicken hell. Forced to lay too many eggs, fed as cheaply as possible, and living in unnatural conditions, factory hens lay eggs that may have rough and ridged shells, loose light yellow yolks, and watery whites. In the kitchen, this translates into poor performance in what eggs are supposed to do: bind ingredients, add body, and support light, well-risen cakes, among other functions.
The organic farm, however, is much closer to chicken heaven. According to the standards for the National Organic Program, “All organically raised animals must have access to the outdoors.… They may be temporarily confined only for reasons of health, safety, the animal’s stage of production, or to protect soil or water quality.”
This means that organic eggs come from hens with a scratch yard. Notice it says they can be shut in the henhouse only temporarily—in other words, they are truly free-range birds. That doesn’t mean they can fly out of the scratch yard and start living under the hydrangea. Laying hens and roosters usually have their flight feathers clipped so they can’t fly. Humane treatment, healthy diet, and lack of stress translate into organic eggs that perform beautifully in the kitchen, including functions such as coagulation, foaming, emulsification, and browning.
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