For a long time I believed that all organic eggs came from happy healthy chickens. I thought the farms they lived on abided by organic principles because they believed in them.

Sadly, it’s not quite that simple. This important video shows how some of the largest farms are abusing the organic ethos for profit. Their eggs may carry an organic logo, but it is a travesty that the eggs from these sort of places are certified organic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lajCR6Ksi8

Although the video relates to corporate agribusinesses in the US, you can almost be certain that this extends to egg production across the globe. As Mark Kastel, from The Cornucopia Institute says, organic egg production is now falling into the factory farming category. The Institute has been researching the egg industry for two years, and has now published their findings in the report ‘Scrambled Eggs’.

The tragedy is that consumers believe that an egg certified as organic is indeed organic. For years I certainly did. Watch the video to see the conditions the poor animals are kept in. According to Mark, the large factory farm egg producers own 80% of the organic egg market in the US, and are paying ‘lip service’ to the organic standards.

A key part of organic farming and husbandry regulations is that animals have ease of access to the outside world. One example shown in the video is of a barn with over 15,000 hens inside. Their access outside is a 2ft by 2ft hole in the wall. Other farms provide small enclosed porches, and some provide no access at all. Yet still the eggs from these farms are certified organic.

Watch the video to see the difference in standards for those chickens that roam and forage freely outside, and those that can’t. Think too, upon the nutritional quality and taste of the eggs. Chickens gain a lot of nutrition from eating grass, seeds and insects. The levels of Omega-3 will certainly by significantly higher in those eggs from freely foraging hens, as will other vitamins.

Family-scale farmers, who are abiding by the organic ethos, are placed at a competitive disadvantage. Of course the cost of their eggs will be higher, and consumers who are ignorant of what is really going on are likely to choose the cheaper organic eggs (which of course should not be certified organic).

For the last year I have been going to markets specifically to buy my organic eggs. I have also purchased eggs as part of my organic box scheme. In both instances I have talked to the retailer about the farms, and egg production. The retailers have suggested I visit the farms if I am worried about the standards of chicken husbandry.

So ask around. You can ask your supermarket or grocery store if that’s where you buy your organic eggs. If you don’t get answers you’re looking for, make the effort to switch providers and buy from local markets whose egg sellers will be able to answer your questions. It really is worth making the effort to find truly organic eggs from happy healthy birds. For you, for the chickens, for the environment.

Filed under: Organic Farming

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