Tag Archives: Omnivores Dilemma

There really is a difference in how your eggs are raised

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Until Mathew started eating solids, I never gave much thought to where my eggs came from. Yes, of course, chickens. But I never thought about how they were raised, what they ate and if they had space to roam free and forage. Were the chickens that laid our eggs happy and healthy? Then I met Jennifer of the “Little Egg Farm.” Her eggs were so different from any store bought eggs I had ever came across. The yolks were bright orange, the color of a summer sunset, round like a basketball and so flavorful. When I cooked with them, they changed the color of what we were eating; our French toast was golden. There was no way to escape the orange glow, nor would we want to. I knew there was something different about how she raised her chickens. Jennifer and her husband own a small family farm and let their chickens forage the garden and land while supplementing their diet with organic feed.

About the time I starting enjoying Jennifer’s eggs, I read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan, which further opened my eyes to the importance of knowing where and how our food was grown. The book simply reinforced that Jennifer’s eggs were raised in the way nature intended. They were simply awesome. When raised properly, eggs are whole foods, prepackaged sources of carbohydrates, protein, fat and micronutrients. Their high nutritional value should not be surprising when you remember that an egg contains everything needed for the nourishment of a developing chick. It makes me think of daily dose of multi-vitamins.

All eggs are not raised the same and labels can be confusing.

Let me clarify a couple of things:

Unlabeled grocery store eggs: are from factory-raised chickens that live in small wire cages, their food and water are in the cage, they do not roam outside the cage. The chickens are fed a mixed diet of grains, corn and hormones to fatten them up. They are given antibiotics to reduce infections that occur since the chickens live in unhealthy conditions.

Factory raised egg

 

Cage-Free: yes, the chickens are not kept in cages and the doors on the barn are open but the food is kept inside. Even though they have access to fresh air, sunshine and room to roam, the chickens rarely journey outside the barn and forage since their food is conveniently located in the barn.

Cage-Free egg

 

Free-Range: another way of saying cage-free.

Pastured: chickens are allowed to forage the land for food, which is part of a varied and complex diet that’s better for the chicken and nourishes their eggs. Their diets are supplemented with grains and corn.

Pastured egg

 

Since we moved away from the Rondout Valley, I have been on a mission to find pastured eggs as rich and tasty as Jennifer’s. Simply put – I cannot. Yes, I have found really good eggs but not Jennifer’s. I have recently found two close seconds, one from a family who are cultivating a small family farm similar to “Little Egg Farm” and another are from a more established family farm called “Remembrance Farm.” Their eggs are delicious and have a beautiful shade of orange but still they are not Jennifer’s. So what is Jennifer’s secret?  She must be the “chicken whisperer.”  I know what she does but no one has been able to reach the same delicious level. Perhaps, her talent combined with the land, and what she grows on her farm could give us a glimpse into her secret. Whatever it is, if you are in the Stone Ridge, NY area, do not miss out on “Little Egg Farm’s” eggs.

 

Local or Organic, how do you choose?

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early morning farmHow much thought goes into what you buy at the grocery store or farmer’s market? How do you make your decisions? Do you choose your produce based on looks, price, organic, how locally it was grown or simply that you just want it? Until 2006, the average person did not give much thought into where their food was grown or what chemicals were used to grow it. But Michael Pollen illuminated the process of growing food in “Omnivores Dilemma.” Then in 2007, Barbara Kingsolver wrote about it in “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.” For me these books helped opened a dialog for the average citizen to think and talk about their choices. Now eight years later, organic and locavore are terms that have become part of normal daily life. People are starting to think about how their food is grown and how it affects them and the planet’s health. I love how this information is becoming mainstream and is making people think about their choices; educating them.

For our family, local is more important than organic but the best, if affordable, is local organic. I spend a lot of time talking with the growers. I have found that they spray as little as possible because every time they turn on their tractors, it costs money, which they have to pass along to their consumers. They need to think about how they raise their crops and maintain the health of the land along with the animals they raise. Their livelihood depends on it. The growers who are selling their produce to larger markets and ship long distances tend to have to make tougher choices about what they are spraying and when they pick their produce. It’s important that their produce can handle traveling long distances and still be edible on the other side. So, some items may have to be picked before they are ripe. I believe that produce picked ripe is taster and has more nutritional content. The local growers who sell to the locals feel their customers are more understanding that their produce may not be cosmetically beautiful, but tastes so good nonetheless. This fact helps them decide how and what to spray and when to pick.

When animals are happy, taken care of humanly and fed a healthy diet, they do not need to be given antibiotics, except on rare occasion.  We take this into account when purchasing meats and eggs.

Every year, it is getting easier to find local produce. Farmer’s markets are springing up everywhere. In 1994, there were only 1,755 farmer’s markets in the entire USA but in 2012, there are at least 7,864.  We are so fortunate that local produce is becoming more widely available. Sometimes I feel like a farmer’s market groupie, which is easy in the area I live in. During the summer, there are five farmer’s markets weekly and since I seem to always forget something, I have been to know to visit them all in a week.

What factors guide your choices? Please share and I will continue to share.