do you buy 'Free Range Eggs'?

[Plenum]

I bought these today:



I didn't scrutinise the packaging until I got home and realised they were not what I was 'really after'.

The hens that laid these eggs are 'free to roam' but are still stuck in a barn. By 'free range' I think most people have a romanticized ideas of the old farms of the 1800's when farm animals grazed in open pasture. This is most definitely not the case with these eggs.

they were $4 a dozen.

you can get caged eggs for as cheap as $2.20 a dozen.

proper 'free range' eggs might go from $6 and upwards; and usually say they are antibiotic free, grain fed etc etc.

it costs more to get the higher quality stuff, but it is also paying for less animal suffering.

next time I'll make a better choice

[Gribbons]

you're right about the idea being romanticized. i've heard this in a documentary that free-range just means that there's a door for imprisoned chickens to walk out of, kind of like a doggie door.

vegetarian eggs are a joke too. yuck!, IMHO.

[Ankh]

Those times I do buy eggs, it is always some eggs that are called "ecological" here in Sweden, meaning that hens are free to roam, and that they get ecological food to eat which is fit for them. I don't think that we should hang up ourselves on the idea that hens are not free to walk around like they could in 1800's. It's still better than being caged, don't you think? The same thing goes with most of the food, if there is an ecological alternatives - I try to buy it, if it's not rediciously expensive. I know what they say, that if everybody would be vegetarians, or buy ecological food, that this wouldn't be sustainable for this planet, but I do it because I believe in something. And everyone does *not* do it anyway.

Another thing that I was thinking about is - is it better to buy for instance ecological tomatoes which would be taken to Sweden from say, Holland, another country, by truck (and add more exhaust to our atmosphere and environment), or is it better for our environment to buy locally produced tomatoes, but which are not ecological?

[Oceania]

free range is better, we should all go and check the places out.

[3DMonkey]

Eggs are a favorite of mine. I buy $2 eggs and $3 wine. I eat rice and beans for lunch.

Eggs are delicious. But they are totally weird, where they come from and all.

Maybe when I get rich, I will live a free range life. Until then, I will stick with like minded food sources ... Back to my prison planet density restricted life... Lol

[βαθμιαίος]

We have our own laying hens.

[3DMonkey]

We have our own laying hens.

Are the hens free?

[βαθμιαίος]

They're what's called "pastured." They're in a pen, but it has no bottom so they can eat plants, bugs, and seeds. They get moved every day.

[Monica]

The hens that laid these eggs are 'free to roam' but are still stuck in a barn. By 'free range' I think most people have a romanticized ideas of the old farms of the 1800's when farm animals grazed in open pasture. This is most definitely not the case with these eggs.

This is another case of despicable false advertising. Free range did indeed, at one time, mean that the chickens were outdoors and able to walk around in the sunlight and forage for bugs and basically have a normal chicken's life instead of being confined to a tiny cage the size of an old record album cover containing 4 chickens who were debeaked to prevent them from killing each other out of sheer frustration and agony.

I was so delighted to see even the mainstream grocery stores carrying free range eggs, and marveled at the low price. I naively thought this meant the egg industry was making progress towards more humane treatment of chickens! How disconcerting to find out I was wrong! AHA this explains it! How disgusting, that they have co-opted the term and taken advantage of people's ignorance.

Sort of like wheat bread which gives the false impression it's whole wheat, when, in actuality, refined white flour is still made from wheat, so the term means absolutely nothing.

We're 98.675 vegan so I only buy a dozen eggs on the rare occasion my son's girlfriend wants to bake something. One egg in a batch of cookies or pancakes, once or twice. Then I usually end up feeding the rest to the doggies as a treat. I have absolutely nothing against the idea of eating truly humanely produced eggs; they're a wonderful source of protein and, if truly organic, essential fatty acids and other wonderful nutrients. Their cage-raised counterparts are a joke by comparison. And that's not even getting into the hormones and antibiotics the eggs are saturated with. Aside from the extreme cruelty issue, feeding such eggs to children is pretty much the same as having them on potent hormone drugs.

You can tell the difference, too: the truly free range egg yolks will be deep, dark orange, in contrast to the cage yolks which are a sickly yellow.

When my son was little and his friend spent the night and I cooked him scrambled eggs in the morning, he wouldn't eat them. He complained that they were too 'yellow.' I asked, "well what color are the eggs your mom makes you?" and he said, "kinda white."

Thank you for posting this. I will be much more careful to make sure any eggs I buy truly are free range and not some marketing trick. It's worth the couple of extra bucks. Gosh, I'll gladly give something else up, to not support such obscene false advertising. And, local farmer's markets are becoming more popular all over the US (not sure about other countries), where locally-produced produce and eggs can be purchased for a lot less cost. Because the produce isn't shipped, it may have less chemicals too, because they don't have to wax the cucumbers, for example.

[Diana]

I don't think that we should hang up ourselves on the idea that hens are not free to walk around like they could in 1800's. It's still better than being caged, don't you think?

I agree. Cage-free is better than living a life stuffed in small cages stacked on top each other (another benefit of buying cage-free as opposed to regular is the message is sent that there is a market for less cruel practices). When I do occasionally buy eggs, I buy cage-free (have never seen "free to roam") organic, and no antibiotics etc. And when possible I get eggs from my friend who just let's them live in the yard, or from another local.

You are right Plenum, in that cage-free may be deceiving. It has prompted me to do some research.

@ βαθμιαίος, are the hens free even when living in the yard? No. I would say they are something like pets.

[Monica]

My dad raised chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons. The pigeons didn't get to ever fly; they were confined to a cage just tall enough for a man to walk in. But the chickens, ducks and geese had a very large yard to roam in, and the ducks always had a large tub of water to splash in. So they had a pretty good life (until they were butchered of course). I remember gathering white, blue and brown eggs of varying sizes. I sure didn't like the goose poop though! So slimy when stepped on barefooted. Yuck!

[Ruth]

I buy eggs from a local farmer - sometimes have to help gather eggs - which can be pretty gross, actually. But at least I know that the hens are truly cage free and that they eat a mostly natural diet.

[Plenum]

egg update:

so I bought the 'right ones' this time -



* laid by hens with freedom to roam outdoors during the day.

* cost me $6 a dozen

* I just gotta believe the packaging, and hope that these guys are true blue ('honest').

final pic:






end of egg update lol

[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.

[Plenum]

wow bridge! thanks for all that info.

I bought those eggs from a supermarket, so that's why they are a bit more pricey.

And you're right; you have to know the guy that grows your food; otherwise you are just going on pure 'faith'.

appreciate all the experience you bring to this topic.

- -

at the very least, I will NOT BUY caged eggs. The very thought that an animal could spend it's entire existence that way just turns my stomach.

---

ok ... this is what I found at their website:

these are the pics they claim are the conditions of the birds:







and here is some of the Certification that they provide:



the full document with all the farms is here: http://www.jumbofreerangeeggs.com.au/ima...-10-20.png

I'm pretty impressed! just gotta hope it's all legit

[Bring4th_Austin]

I definitely don't mean to cast doubt on claims for companies like that. There's no real reason to doubt that the pictures and info on their website are false, especially if they are "certified," which usually means they undergo regular inspections by a third-party. You've already gone further than most consumers by checking their website and statistics, which is great. A lot of people feel they don't have time to become intimately involved with their food suppliers. The conditions of the birds in those photos looks more than acceptable for animal welfare in my opinion. They're also very pretty chickens.



I also feel I should share a bit more on the idea of avoiding certain foods for animal welfare/meat consumption issues. The egg industry is not free from animal death to support it, no matter which egg production system you're looking at. Chickens can live up to 10 years, but only produce eggs at a rate logical for business reasons for 2 years...after that their production reduces to 10% of normal, or completely stops. Feeding a non-laying chicken for 8+ years can be very costly and would drive egg prices up dramatically, to unaffordable levels. The dilemma exists more for vegetarians, because of course the chickens can be used to feed people after its laying cycle is done, which is almost always what happens.

There's also the issue of male birds. Obviously roosters have no purpose in an egg production system, unless it is a breeder, which you really only want the best genetics for that (meaning 1 rooster for probably over 1000 laying hens born). In the large scale production systems, the male chicks are simply thrown in the trash. Literally, still alive and breathing, thrown into a trash can and left their to suffocate as more chicks are thrown on top of them. In more sustainable systems, the roosters are raised as broilers (chickens for eatin'), so their life is not simply dismissed. Either way, animal death is unavoidable in egg production. Just something for people wishing to avoid the killing of animals to be aware of.

[3DMonkey]

They should call them either "concentration camp eggs" or "prison cell eggs"

---

Cause the free range kind need a search party to find.

[Bring4th_Austin]

Cause the free range kind need a search party to find.

Nah, if you set up a nice central location with protected nests for them to lay in, they will only lay there. They don't like laying them out in the open or on the ground, and if they see another egg anywhere they'll likely lay it there. But if you do have a new batch of hens with no set laying area, they will remind you where we got the idea of Easter egg hunts from