I'm usually not one to care much about where my food came from, but the one thing I pay attention to, for some weird reason, is eggs. I think the idea of trapping chickens in cages for their entire lives and having them produce eggs for us is revolting, a real-life Matrix situation. I'll pay a few bucks extra to make sure that the chickens get at least a modicum of better life than being trapped in a cage for their entire lives.
Eggs Not Always What They're Cracked Up to Be
51–60 of 158 posts
Re: Eggs Not Always What They're Cracked Up to Be
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Backyard chicken owner here! Yup, very firm yolks. However the color can fade in the winter when they don't get many greens or sunlight. Evidently you can add turmeric to their feed to enhance the color, but I've never cared to try.
There's an interesting later passage about exactly that: "Joel told me that when he first began selling eggs to chefs, he found himself apologizing for their pallid hue in winter; the yolks would lose their rich orange color when the chickens came in off the pasture in November. Then he met a chef who told him not to worry about it. The chef explained that in cooking school in Switzerland he’d been taught recipes tha…
Interesting! Thanks for sharing. Here's hoping eggnog calls for winter eggs!
Re: Eggs Not Always What They're Cracked Up to Be
#53It's so wonderful to now live in a forthright European country that cares for their citizens and doesn't permit this kind of fraudulent advertising of unnatural and unhealthy modifications of foods. Firms like Monsanto are barred from the country as are GMOs in general and you'd be hard-pressed to find anything other than natural eggs from free-range chickens, untreated with any hormones or antibiotics. It seems the…
Why do you support banning GMOs? I don't mean to be snarky, but I don't know of any good scientific case for doing so. In my estimation, GMOs are one of the most promising technologies for increasing quality of life around the world.
For those of you undecided on the GMO question: If you do nothing else this month, I implore you to watch The World According to Monsanto [1]. A mind bogglingly awesome documentary featuring a copious amount of boots on the ground and expert testimonial.
Re: Eggs Not Always What They're Cracked Up to Be
#54The study is funded by the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply [1] which is "facilitated" by the Center for Food Integrity [2], which is run by a PR firm on behalf of ConAgra, Monsanto, Tyson, and others. It makes me sad that NPR is slowly turning into just another mouthpiece. [1] http://www2.sustainableeggcoalition.org/ [2] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Food_I...
Poisoning the well much? Even if true, one biased article does not make them into "another mouthpiece."
Re: Eggs Not Always What They're Cracked Up to Be
#55The description in "The Omnivore's Dilemma" of egg yolks from idyllically pasture-raised chickens is forever stuck in my memory. "Between stops, Art mentioned that Joel’s eggs usually gave him his foot in the door when trying to land a new account. We stopped in at one such prospect, a newly opened restaurant called the Filling Station. Art introduced himself and presented the chef with a brochure and a dozen eggs. T…
I went to whole foods and bought a bunch of different brands of eggs and cracked them at home to inspect them. I noticed a big difference between the ones that said "pastured" from all of the others. These were usually the orangest and firmest. The yellowest and weakest were the "omega 3 flax fed" ones. Words like "cage free" and "free range" didn't seem to make a difference.
Sounds like a sample size of 1-batch was enough to convince you. Maybe you should try it again sometime, see if it's different.
Re: Eggs Not Always What They're Cracked Up to Be
#56I'm usually not one to care much about where my food came from, but the one thing I pay attention to, for some weird reason, is eggs. I think the idea of trapping chickens in cages for their entire lives and having them produce eggs for us is revolting, a real-life Matrix situation. I'll pay a few bucks extra to make sure that the chickens get at least a modicum of better life than being trapped in a cage for their e…
Not sure if it is any consolation but at least "their entire life" is not that long. When I worked at an egg farm (25 years ago), we replaced the flock each year. If I recall correctly, the outbound birds were used to make dog food and such.
Re: Eggs Not Always What They're Cracked Up to Be
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do you support banning GMOs? I don't mean to be snarky, but I don't know of any good scientific case for doing so. In my estimation, GMOs are one of the most promising technologies for increasing quality of life around the world.
There are logical reasons for being against GMOs. Many of them have nothing to do with the fact that the product is GMO: * GMOs tend to promote monoculture and pesticide use. * Studies have shown that the same developments that make GMOs more insect resistant can also make them more difficult to digest. * When it comes to animals, GMOs tend to have much poorer quality of life and tend to be completely incapable of su…
> * GMOs almost never focus on the true value of a food item, but rather the sell value. A food that looks nutritious is more valuable than one that actually is and GMOs make it easier to create that false association (deep red tomatos that taste like wall paper glue, etc).
A more nutritious food that nobody wants to eat is a food that is not of improved value.
Re: Eggs Not Always What They're Cracked Up to Be
#58The description in "The Omnivore's Dilemma" of egg yolks from idyllically pasture-raised chickens is forever stuck in my memory. "Between stops, Art mentioned that Joel’s eggs usually gave him his foot in the door when trying to land a new account. We stopped in at one such prospect, a newly opened restaurant called the Filling Station. Art introduced himself and presented the chef with a brochure and a dozen eggs. T…
I went to whole foods and bought a bunch of different brands of eggs and cracked them at home to inspect them. I noticed a big difference between the ones that said "pastured" from all of the others. These were usually the orangest and firmest. The yellowest and weakest were the "omega 3 flax fed" ones. Words like "cage free" and "free range" didn't seem to make a difference.
If various articles I've seen on the topic are to be believed, eggs from pastured hens don't just look and taste different—they're far more nutritious than the rest[1]. I forget which nutrient (and I'm not certain it's even one of the ones listed at that link) but IIRC there's one that's very difficult to come by in the recommended quantities unless you 1) eat lots of insects, or 2) eat eggs and/or meat from birds that eat lots of insects. As one might expect, it's almost completely absent from non-pastured eggs.
See also declining nutrient levels in produce generally[2]. I'm becoming increasingly convinced that our ultra-low food prices, especially the US, amount to a scam.
We've got year-round variety (shipped from hundreds to thousands of miles away), we've got quantity, our produce is colorful (though bland), and our food rarely makes us sick (very nice, to be sure), but if you seek out quality there go convenience (distant 1 day/week farmers' markets versus a dozen nearby supermarkets that operate 24/7) and low prices, plus you've got to remember all the labeling and advertising tricks of the sort mentioned in the article so you don't get screwed.
[1] http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/05/pastured-eggs.... [2] (PDF WARNING) http://www.drapsley.com/Documents/Mineral%20losses%20in%20fo...
Re: Eggs Not Always What They're Cracked Up to Be
#59"They usually live in aviaries: massive industrial barns" Oooh, industrial barns... "And often, Kastel says, industrial fans that suck..." Oooh, industrial fans. As opposed to the ones that grow on trees. "One of the most common causes of death was pecking by other chickens." You mean we give them more freedom, and they kill each other? I thought 'natural' was meant to mean all rainbows and happiness and shit.
> You mean we give them more freedom, and they kill each other? They are in crowded conditions. Humans do the same things will kept locked up in crowded conditions. What are you arguing is akin to saying that humans need to be locked up in solitary confinement because if you keep them "free" in close quarters they will start committing acts of violence against each other. You would have a hard time arguing that the J…
Don't think I was 'arguing' anything really. Just commenting on the irony. Nature tends to be brutish and nasty, quite the opposite to the picture that your typical urban-living organic food enthusiast has.
Re: Eggs Not Always What They're Cracked Up to Be
#60"They usually live in aviaries: massive industrial barns" Oooh, industrial barns... "And often, Kastel says, industrial fans that suck..." Oooh, industrial fans. As opposed to the ones that grow on trees. "One of the most common causes of death was pecking by other chickens." You mean we give them more freedom, and they kill each other? I thought 'natural' was meant to mean all rainbows and happiness and shit.
> Oooh, industrial barns... Yes, as in "not the red family farm barn they have on the packaging". > You mean we give them more freedom, and they kill each other? I thought 'natural' was meant to mean all rainbows and happiness and shit. Imagine a prison where you've replaced all the individual cells with one big cramped holding cell. Violence will break out.
Do you think the chickens give a shit what colour the barn is?