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ENLARGE
Dear Eartha: After watching the film ‘Food, Inc.' I can't stop looking at egg labels for insight into the best eggs to buy for my family, the environment, and the chicken. Can you tell me what I should be looking for on the egg label and how to avoid the over-crowded, inhumane, commercial chicken nightmare?
—Jayme, Summit Cove
I know exactly what you mean. The last time I was egg shopping, I read the label of each and every egg carton in the “organic” section hoping to find eggs that: traveled less than 100 miles; came from cage-free, happy chickens that freely roamed acres and acres of land; fed on organic garden vegetables and table scraps; and shipped in 100 percent recycled and recyclable containers. Is that too much to ask for?
Needless to say, I did not find that perfect dozen of eggs. What I did find were questionable labels and a headache of unknowns. For instance, if the label says “cage-free,” how do I know that hundreds of chickens weren't packed into a cage-free henhouse? Even if the label shouts “organic,” does that really mean these chickens were fed organic feed or raised without antibiotics?
This egg dilemma isn't new by any means. Manufacturers have been manipulating consumers with misleading labels for decades. So what should you be looking for the next time you buy a dozen?
Author Ellen Kanner of the book “Cracking The Egg Label Code,” suggests following the World Society for Protection of Animal's (WSPA) lead and switching from commercially raised eggs to those labeled “Certified Humane,” “American Humane Certified,” or “Animal Welfare Approved.”
During farmer's market season, you can purchase the dreamy eggs mentioned above from actual farmers who can tell you how the chickens are raised. Recently I was sent amazing photos from Grant Family Farms with groovy chickens living it up in multicolored, “roving chicken buses.”
Chickens allowed to roam all over the farm like Grant Farm chickens actually produce eggs that taste better and are better for you than commercial eggs. Free range fowl often eat a varied diet that include garden plants and healthy table scraps. You are what you eat — even when you're a chicken! True “free-range” eggs have three to six times more vitamin D than conventional eggs, are higher in folic acid and vitamin B12, and are higher in omega-3 fatty acids.
The environmental downside to commercially produced eggs is that the chickens are often fed with antibiotics. Not only do commercial eggs lose their freshness when they're trucked over 1,500 miles from their crowded farms, they are energy-suckers in miles traveled and prolonged refrigeration for those travels.
In addition, Concentrated Animal Feed Operations (CAFOs — a whole other Ask Eartha in itself) cause tremendous pollution to surface and ground water and contribute to methane, a greenhouse gas 72 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short-term. Not to mention the synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that are used to make the grain to feed commercial livestock … need I go on?
Yes: Buying certified “humane” and environmentally friendly eggs is more expensive and these days, it might be considered a benefit to buy eggs in the first place. With the new community food movement in full force and “urban homesteaders” growing food in front and back yards, chicken raising and at-home egg producing is also gaining fast momentum — and it's affordable!
Denver, Fort Collins and other cities across the nation have mended zoning ordinances to allow residences to raise chickens if they follow guidelines and permit processes. Summit County's Food Policy Council (FPC) is working closely with county planners to update our zoning ordinances to allow for backyard chickens. Under current ordinances, only residences in approved zoned areas (most often two acres or more) can have backyard chickens.
The FPC has a lot of work to do, and we need your help. If you are interested in backyard chickens (for or against), please let us know. Our next meeting is Thursday, Oct. 21, from 2-3:30 p.m. in the Miner's Creek room at the Medical Office Building in Frisco. You can learn more about our local FPC on our website at www.highcountryconservation.org or email food@highcountryconservation.org.
To be continued … join us next week when Eartha revisits backyard chickens, Summit County zoning opportunities, and urban agriculture.
Eartha Steward is written by Jennifer Santry and Erin Makowsky, consultants on all things eco and chic at the High Country Conservation Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to waste reduction and resource conservation. Submit questions to Eartha at eartha@highcountryconservation.org.
—Jayme, Summit Cove
I know exactly what you mean. The last time I was egg shopping, I read the label of each and every egg carton in the “organic” section hoping to find eggs that: traveled less than 100 miles; came from cage-free, happy chickens that freely roamed acres and acres of land; fed on organic garden vegetables and table scraps; and shipped in 100 percent recycled and recyclable containers. Is that too much to ask for?
Needless to say, I did not find that perfect dozen of eggs. What I did find were questionable labels and a headache of unknowns. For instance, if the label says “cage-free,” how do I know that hundreds of chickens weren't packed into a cage-free henhouse? Even if the label shouts “organic,” does that really mean these chickens were fed organic feed or raised without antibiotics?
This egg dilemma isn't new by any means. Manufacturers have been manipulating consumers with misleading labels for decades. So what should you be looking for the next time you buy a dozen?
Author Ellen Kanner of the book “Cracking The Egg Label Code,” suggests following the World Society for Protection of Animal's (WSPA) lead and switching from commercially raised eggs to those labeled “Certified Humane,” “American Humane Certified,” or “Animal Welfare Approved.”
During farmer's market season, you can purchase the dreamy eggs mentioned above from actual farmers who can tell you how the chickens are raised. Recently I was sent amazing photos from Grant Family Farms with groovy chickens living it up in multicolored, “roving chicken buses.”
Chickens allowed to roam all over the farm like Grant Farm chickens actually produce eggs that taste better and are better for you than commercial eggs. Free range fowl often eat a varied diet that include garden plants and healthy table scraps. You are what you eat — even when you're a chicken! True “free-range” eggs have three to six times more vitamin D than conventional eggs, are higher in folic acid and vitamin B12, and are higher in omega-3 fatty acids.
The environmental downside to commercially produced eggs is that the chickens are often fed with antibiotics. Not only do commercial eggs lose their freshness when they're trucked over 1,500 miles from their crowded farms, they are energy-suckers in miles traveled and prolonged refrigeration for those travels.
In addition, Concentrated Animal Feed Operations (CAFOs — a whole other Ask Eartha in itself) cause tremendous pollution to surface and ground water and contribute to methane, a greenhouse gas 72 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short-term. Not to mention the synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that are used to make the grain to feed commercial livestock … need I go on?
Yes: Buying certified “humane” and environmentally friendly eggs is more expensive and these days, it might be considered a benefit to buy eggs in the first place. With the new community food movement in full force and “urban homesteaders” growing food in front and back yards, chicken raising and at-home egg producing is also gaining fast momentum — and it's affordable!
Denver, Fort Collins and other cities across the nation have mended zoning ordinances to allow residences to raise chickens if they follow guidelines and permit processes. Summit County's Food Policy Council (FPC) is working closely with county planners to update our zoning ordinances to allow for backyard chickens. Under current ordinances, only residences in approved zoned areas (most often two acres or more) can have backyard chickens.
The FPC has a lot of work to do, and we need your help. If you are interested in backyard chickens (for or against), please let us know. Our next meeting is Thursday, Oct. 21, from 2-3:30 p.m. in the Miner's Creek room at the Medical Office Building in Frisco. You can learn more about our local FPC on our website at www.highcountryconservation.org or email food@highcountryconservation.org.
To be continued … join us next week when Eartha revisits backyard chickens, Summit County zoning opportunities, and urban agriculture.
Eartha Steward is written by Jennifer Santry and Erin Makowsky, consultants on all things eco and chic at the High Country Conservation Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to waste reduction and resource conservation. Submit questions to Eartha at eartha@highcountryconservation.org.
