When I buy eggs (which I seldom do, as part of my Lisa-tarian lifestyle), I buy them exclusively from one person at my local market, who I’ve grown to know, and trust, who prides himself on his happy chickens. The eggs he sells are not stamped with that red lot/batch number, are not all of the same size or and do not necessarily have the same coloured shell. Are all of the eggs you are buying look exactly the same in the carton? How could that possibly be?
Conventional eggs from the grocery store often contain antibiotics. Antibiotics and arsenic used in chicken feed can linger in a chicken’s eggs for days. Also, what are the chickens eating? Soy, corn, grains? Even when you buy certified organic eggs, there is no requirement for the amount of time a chicken gets to spend outside or the quality of what they eat. Some say that eggs from caged hens is actually the cruelest factory farmed product. And unfortunately, “free-roaming” and “cage-free” labels mean very little in terms of animal welfare too.
Always choose organic, truly free-range, eggs laid by happy hens.
The only way to get healthy eggs from happy hens is buying local from a farmer you know and trust – not from the grocery store, no matter what the label tells you.
Ask questions. Use the answers. If you’re in Toronto, visit these markets. And remember, not everyone at the farmers’ market is truly good, so make sure you’re having meaningful conversations with the farmers too.
Image by hilltribeorganics.com
