In Mid-November I wrote an article for the Horrabridge Bridge Magazine called ‘The Chicken Or The Egg?’ At the beginning of December it is due to be published. For those of you who are not local or for anyone else who is interested here is a copy of the article. Enjoy.
The Chicken Or The Egg?...
By Lara Stenton
What comes first the chicken or the egg? This is an uncertainty which has been debated for centuries however the question I’m considering is not regarding the scientific causality dilemma to which we all automatically contemplate but the more ethical profit versus principles question.
Eggs contain high levels of essential vitamins and minerals and therefore greatly benefit health; they have been proven to be beneficial for foetal development, brain function and eye health as well as combating obesity as they fill you up for longer than an alternative food option of a similar calorie count. Due to the health benefits and popularity of this foodstuff each person in the UK consumes an average of 147 eggs per year which amounts to almost 11 billion eggs being consumed annually nationwide. Because of the sheer volume of hens that are required to produce this number of eggs welfare standards for chickens, for the most part, have been ignored.
In a cage system a hen enters a cage at 20 weeks old and will remain there for an average of 52 weeks before slaughter. Chickens are treated as dispensable, living production engines that when they are past their designated warranty period, are disposed of before a breakdown or reduction in production can occur. “Slaughter of healthy young animals is just as much a part of egg production as it is a part of meat production. All eggs on the market today come from hens destined to be sent to the slaughterhouse after just a fraction of their natural lifespan.” In these cages all of a hen’s natural instincts to nest, perch, roost, dust bathe and scratch are denied. A caged hen cannot flap or stretch or even turn around to see the egg it has laid. More than 260 million chickens in the European Union are battery hens and considering that on average a battery hen lays only 15 more eggs a year than a free range hen these caged conditions are inexcusable. This form of intensive farming puts the egg, and the profit to be received from it, far before the welfare of the chicken.
By January 1st 2012, a mere 50 days away, all battery cages in the EU should be replaced by ‘enriched cages’. This is a target that the UK will meet but that 8 other EU member states are expected to fail. Although enriched cages are a slight improvement on the former ‘battery’ cage they still fall far below ethical. Considering that as an EU country we are prohibited from blocking the import and export of other EU state produce, eggs from battery cage hens are still going to be freely available in the UK. When it comes to egg production the UK is one of the best countries in the EU for ethically sound farming. In 2004 twenty-four million chickens were living in battery farms in the UK supplying 70% of British eggs; this year, 2011, free-range and organic eggs account for 47% of all eggs packed in the UK. Unfortunately this figure means that 53% of eggs are still being produced by other means.
In the last year the price of feed has gone up “and the income from selling the eggs, which is governed by the large supermarkets, has gone down!” When a farmer is only receiving 88 pence per dozen from a supermarket, having free-range hens does not pay off, forcing them to either give up their businesses and cull their numerous birds, or resort to more intensive methods of farming; neither of these are in the best interests of the chicken. “On the commercial scale, where profit is the main motive, animals can come to be seen merely as objects to be used. From here, of course, there is a much greater risk of a slide into cruelty.”
For these reasons it is crucial that individuals are aware of what produce they are buying and that they ensure their food is coming from an ethically sound source and not an intensive farming system. “The challenge now is to spread the word so that people actively choose free-range eggs when doing their grocery shopping.” The only fair and humane way to produce eggs is through fully free-range, outdoor, pastured hens living a natural and enjoyable lifestyle.
Last year my family and I moved from Horrabridge to a smallholding on the outskirts of Tavistock. Recently the concepts of self-sufficiency and growing your own produce as well as healthy and frugal living have come into fashion due to the current economic and social climate; this means that the hobby of backyard chicken keeping is becoming more and more popular in the UK.
As a family we have always liked the idea of having our own hens and being that little bit more self-sufficient, so we went out and purchased a number of gorgeous rare-breeds. As we got to know the girls we realised how intelligent, inquisitive and unique they are, each chicken has a different personality and traits which are distinctive to them; we instantly fell in-love with small scale chicken keeping.
Having a couple of good free-range layers in your back garden for the purposes of supplying your family with food is not only enjoyable and satisfying but rewarding when you taste the scrumptiousness of your first home laid egg. Due to the stress and pace of modern life we understand that keeping your own chickens is not always practical and not the avenue through which most people obtain their eggs. Seeing how bright and special the girls were coupled with the sad fact that the majority of commercial farmers, supermarkets and even small-scale egg producers still put the egg before the chicken we decided to take action.
In March this year I decided to buy a few hybrid chickens (the type used for egg laying) and to start selling eggs direct to the customer and from the farm gate. For as long as I can remember I have been concerned with animal welfare standards so the aim of the small business is to show people how delicious an egg can taste from a truly free-range cared for chicken and to hopefully prevent people from buying mass produced ‘off the shelf’ eggs.
Although the standards of welfare in commercial free-range systems vastly outstrip that of any caged system not all ‘free-range’ eggs seen at the supermarket fit the images that are conjured up when thinking of free-range. Many of these farms have tens of thousands of hens all kept in close conditions causing pecking and fighting and who are ultimately destined for meat after their first year of laying.
All of my girls have a name and have a happy home for life where they will never be culled even after they stop laying. This is obviously not the way to run a high profit business however I am proud to say that I supply an excellent product in an ethical way where the chicken comes above all else and where the egg is merely a wonderful by-product of happy hens.
Now-a-days it is down to the consumer to ensure that the food they are buying is produced in a humane and ethical way which deviates from current profit driven practices putting the chicken before the egg.
So before you go to buy eggs at the supermarket please just ask yourself, the chicken or the egg? The answer: 100% the chicken every time.
To Order Free-Range Chicken or Quail Eggs from The Eggy Egg Company Please Contact Me:
Phone number: 07817550509 Email: info@eggyeggdevon.co.uk
Free-Range Chicken Eggs - £1.50 per box (6 eggs)
Quail Eggs - £2.20 per box (12 eggs)
Horrabridge Delivery every Thursday Free of Charge; Payment on Delivery
On buying your 12th box of eggs you and your family can come to visit the chickens on the farm to see where your delicious eggs come from. You will also be able to meet the array of other animals we have here including the 4 Kune Kune pigs and 2 donkeys! (By appointment only)
Please check out my website www.eggyeggdevon.co.uk where you’ll find photos of the girls as well as delicious recipes and further details explaining the benefits of eating free range eggs from pastured hens.
