02-24-2012, 06:45 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-24-2012, 06:47 PM by Bring4th_Austin.)
$6/dozen!!! I see you're in Australia, so that is $6.41/dozen in USD!! I'm rather shocked.
I sell 100% organic eggs (fed organic feed their entire life) from chickens which roam completely free for $5/dozen at my farmers' market...I'm not sure how the agriculture industry differs in Australia, but perhaps you could find some eggs cheaper at a local farmers' market?
There are different levels of humanity within the egg production industry. Battery cage eggs are the worst, from chickens stuffed 4 to a cage about 2 square feet their entire lives. They are outlawed in many places in Europe.
Cage-free is better, but not good. They are kept in an indoor facility and allowed to roam, but are still highly compact and usually never see daylight in their lifetimes.
Then there is the free range, which means that they have to have access to forage "outside," but the definition of outside is rather flexible. Normally it means that they just have to have access to some area with sunlight, and the size of that area per chicken is not defined either...which it seems like what you have in your last post there. Although they are certified, so there should be a way to look up online exactly what the qualifications for the certification are. Like I said, "outdoors" can be defined very loosely, but certification programs usually have stricter guidelines for certification.
Any of the systems above you will almost be guaranteed that the chickens are fed antibiotics, unless it says otherwise. But it's pretty hard to not have disease outbreak in a commercial system where chickens are kept so confined in close quarters, so they are fed medication as a preventative measure.
"Pasture-raised" is normally better, but it doesn't always mean they're allowed to roam free. They may be confined to a small area on pasture, however it is almost always better than any of the above systems.
Being in the food production industry, I'll always stand by the saying: "The only way to be sure of eating pure food is to know the first name of the farmer." Any of my customers who buy our eggs for $5/dozen can come to the farm and witness for themselves what kind of life the chickens have, or they can look at our photos on facebook if they're not inclined to visit the farm. Either way, the only thing that limits your involvement with your food is yourself. Find the motivation to find a local farmer that treats their animals right and then you will know for sure that your eggs are coming from happy chickens...otherwise, you never really know.
I sell 100% organic eggs (fed organic feed their entire life) from chickens which roam completely free for $5/dozen at my farmers' market...I'm not sure how the agriculture industry differs in Australia, but perhaps you could find some eggs cheaper at a local farmers' market?
There are different levels of humanity within the egg production industry. Battery cage eggs are the worst, from chickens stuffed 4 to a cage about 2 square feet their entire lives. They are outlawed in many places in Europe.
Cage-free is better, but not good. They are kept in an indoor facility and allowed to roam, but are still highly compact and usually never see daylight in their lifetimes.
Then there is the free range, which means that they have to have access to forage "outside," but the definition of outside is rather flexible. Normally it means that they just have to have access to some area with sunlight, and the size of that area per chicken is not defined either...which it seems like what you have in your last post there. Although they are certified, so there should be a way to look up online exactly what the qualifications for the certification are. Like I said, "outdoors" can be defined very loosely, but certification programs usually have stricter guidelines for certification.
Any of the systems above you will almost be guaranteed that the chickens are fed antibiotics, unless it says otherwise. But it's pretty hard to not have disease outbreak in a commercial system where chickens are kept so confined in close quarters, so they are fed medication as a preventative measure.
"Pasture-raised" is normally better, but it doesn't always mean they're allowed to roam free. They may be confined to a small area on pasture, however it is almost always better than any of the above systems.
Being in the food production industry, I'll always stand by the saying: "The only way to be sure of eating pure food is to know the first name of the farmer." Any of my customers who buy our eggs for $5/dozen can come to the farm and witness for themselves what kind of life the chickens have, or they can look at our photos on facebook if they're not inclined to visit the farm. Either way, the only thing that limits your involvement with your food is yourself. Find the motivation to find a local farmer that treats their animals right and then you will know for sure that your eggs are coming from happy chickens...otherwise, you never really know.
_____________________________
The only frontier that has ever existed is the self.
The only frontier that has ever existed is the self.
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