God has given
us perfect foods to use throughout the centuries to sustain us. From our roots
of nomads, wandering and following herds of animals, to figuring out we can
contain them and stay in one place, God has given us foods that are perfect fit
for our bodies. It’s only in the last century that we have mixed science with
our food production and altered it so it’s not of God and our bodies doesn’t
recognize any longer. Meat, milk, and plants are the staples of our diet from
centuries ago. And lets me honest, we human’s get bored with eating the same
thing day after day. Thus we try to make things different to change it up.
photo: unknown
photo: unknown
Today let’s talk about the perfect egg.
As nomads these were yummy treats we found with all sorts of birds we came
across, Turkey, quail, chickens, sea birds, etc. When human’s first
domesticated chickens in Asia, Africa, and Europe (around 6000 B.C.) they used
chickens of Indian origin for cockfighting. Little attention was giving to meat
or egg production of chickens at that time. Over time we learned that money
could be made from selling eggs and meats in market. Most homesteaders across
the globe raised their own birds for eggs and meat. It was a staple of the
diets. Then they industrial era hit the world in the 1900’s in the egg
production market when the refrigerator was invented. Eggs could be transported
longer distances and kept longer. Thus was born the cage chicken egg layer in
mass production farms. These farms are regulated by state and federal laws and
the chickens are kept fed and watered adequately. But as you can see that’s not
letting chickens be a chicken. Chickens in tight quarters also have a tendency
to peck on each other. This is not good for the farmer so they do what called
trimming the beaks of the birds. Notice that the top beak is shorter than the
bottom. They are trimmed at a young age using a clipper. This does not affect
eating and drinking. However it is not necessary for free range chickens.
Over time
people understood what was happening to their food and wanted different. I
think mainly because of the inhuman treatment that was splashed over the media.
People wanted more control of their food. Thus was re-born hobby farmer. People
not raise their own meat birds and layer birds for meat and eggs. I do not
believe nutrition was the focus more of a side effect of this. After years of
people knowing that small farm raised meat and eggs were better for you and me,
now we have studies that show this. Motherearthnews.com did a study in 2007 from
14 different flocks of chickens around the country that range freely on pasture
or are housed in moveable pens that are rotated frequently to maximize access
to fresh pasture and protect the birds from predators. Six eggs from each of
the 14 flocks were tested in an accredited lab in Portland, Oregon. The results
shows the average nutrient contentof the samples, compared with the official egg nutrient
data from the USDA for “conventional” (i.e. from confined hens) eggs. The chart
lists the individual results from each flock.
Free
Range Eggs
· 1/3 less cholesterol
· ¼ less saturated fat
· 2/3 more vitamin A
· 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
· 3 times more vitamin E
· 7 times more beta carotene
photo: creativecoops.com
It’s
not merely a question of health to some; it’s also a question of taste. Free
range eggs taste better. This is because chickens do natural grazing on insects
and plants. Yolk color will reflect this. Free range eggs yolks are darker in
color due to diet. Sadly, there are now feeds on the market that have additives
in the feed that make darker yolks to provide what consumers want, an easy way
to tell if it’s free range or not. Now it’s not hard to copy this for large cage farmers. How can you tell
if your eggs are coming from free range chickens? Simple…know your farmer.
Visit the farm you get your eggs from. Honest farmers welcome visitors. Just
asking to see pictures is not the best way. Those can be printed off the
internet.
And
now for some interesting egg facts…
1.
Eggs
are better unwashed. The hen puts a natural coating on the egg when it’s laid
to prevent bacteria to penetrate the shell when incubating and developing the
baby chick. Yes, there may be poo on the shell then, but just wash it before
you crack it open and you’ll be fine.
2.
Eggs
do not have to be refrigerated. Why? Eggs were never refrigerated before we had
refrigerators. Think about it. Eggs do last longer in the refrigerator, about a
month or two. Eggs are good on the counter for about a week. It’s better to do
this with eggs that are unwashed. See reason above. One day on the counter
equals one week in the refrigerator.
3.
The
average hens lays an average of 250 eggs per year.
4.
The
average person eats 172 eggs per year.
5.
95% of
eggs produced in the US are from caged hens. That is approminately 266 million
hens.
6.
A caged
hen has only 67 square inches of cage space. That’s less than a single sheet of
paper to live her entire life on.
7.
Free range
hens can forage, nest, perch, dust bathe, and exercise freely in open fields.
8.
Caged hens
are forced to molt to increase egg production (molting: loose their feathers,
which is a natural annual behavior in free range hens) by starving the hens for
7-14 days, causeing the hens to lose weight, lose feathers and, in some cases,
die.
Know
your facts for reading cartons: Labels may not mean what you think. There are
guidelines set for free-range, cage-free, organic labeling. Here is what these
labels mean to the USDA standards.
Again: the best way to know how your
chickens are raises is to visit the farm.
- Andrea Deihl
