Tag: eggs

August 27, 2018

Chickens Are Not Vegetarians

While browsing through Whole Foods awhile back, I came across a package of eggs from “vegetarian fed chickens”. That got me thinking. What did they have to do to force their chickens to be vegetarians? Chickens are not vegetarian by nature. I know, I’ve raised chickens my whole life. I never found any vegetarian chickens.

One activity we liked to do as kids was grab some bugs or worms and throw them into the chicken yard. Then stand back and watch as the chickens chased them around and ate them. The moment a chicken sees a bug moving, it zeroes in for the kill. This is a natural response. Chickens have been doing this for thousands of years. Wild chickens didn’t have a feeder stocked full of corn, they had to find their own food.

According to Wikipedia: “In the wild, they often scratch at the soil to search for seeds, insects and even larger animals such as lizards, small snakes or young mice.” Eating insects is not vegetarian. Eating lizards, snakes, and mice is certainly not vegetarian.

Turkeys are even more voracious hunters. From as young as a week old, baby turkeys will stalk and attempt to eat any fly that lands nearby. This is instinct, they didn’t learn it from us, they didn’t learn it from their mother. In the brooder, they only have each other to learn from.

Vegetarian Fed Means Kept Indoors

When I see “vegetarian fed” on a carton of eggs, or a package of chicken, I feel bad for those chickens. They’re clearly not living their lives out in the pasture. If they were, you couldn’t call them vegetarians. The only way to ensure that a chicken only eats what you want, is to lock them in a building. Controlling their environment ensures that they don’t eat any of those nasty bugs or worms.

The word ‘fed’ in vegetarian fed sounds like a weasel word. Chickens, even ones in buildings, may still be able to find bugs to eat. Bugs that crawled or flew in. Manure attracts bugs. That said, there’s no bugs or animal products in the feed. Hence, vegetarian fed.

“Eww! Chickens eat bugs! That’s gross.”. No, it’s not gross, it’s natural. What isn’t natural is forcing chickens to eat only what you consider fit for consumption. I find it rather amusing that someone wanting to eat meat would want to force that meat to be vegetarian. I have no idea where this idea even came from. Surely not from vegetarians, they don’t eat meat. Are that many consumers grossed out about chickens eating bugs?

Bugs are the most nutrient dense things a chicken can eat. When a chicken eats bugs and other non vegetarian things it turns the pale yellow yolk of an industrial chicken into the healthy orange yolk of a pasture raised egg.

When you deprive chickens of their natural diet of bugs and grass, you have to replace it with vitamin supplements. Man made vitamin packs and mineral supplements are never going to be as good as simply letting a chicken eat their natural diet. Not to mention, locking thousands of chickens in a building is not healthy, nor humane.

Why are store bought egg yolks a pale yellow? Because 10,000 hens locked in a barn with a small yard have nothing to eat except the same premixed chicken feed. There are no bugs to be found and any grass in the yard is quickly eaten and scratched down to dirt. There’s very little nutrition in a dirt yard. In my article, Pastured Raised Eggs, I explain why raising chickens on pasture makes for healthier eggs.

Sustainable farms raise chickens out on pasture, where they’re meant to be. This makes for happier chickens and healthier eggs. Raising chickens in the pasture is more work, but they don’t mind. Seeing those happy hens everyday makes it worth it. I hope you agree.

Pasture Raised Eggs

Posted in Food for Thought

Local pasture raised eggs are easily the most popular sustainable food you can buy. They are easy to raise, easy to sell, and easy to see and taste the difference. I’m sure you already know that pasture raised eggs are better than supermarket eggs. But do you know why?

Why are store bought egg yolks a pale yellow? Because 10,000 hens locked in a barn with a small dirt yard have nothing to eat except the same old premixed chicken feed. Even organic chickens who are mandated outdoor access quickly scratch said yards down to dirt. There’s very little nutrition in a dirt yard.

Pasture raised eggs are far more nutritious than supermarket eggs. Pastured eggs have both Omega-3 and Omega-6 in nearly equal proportions. Conversely, supermarket eggs have as much as 19 times as much Omega-6 than Omega-3. These need to be in balance to be healthy. According to Mother Earth News, eggs raised on pasture contain ⅔ more vitamin A, 3 times more vitamin E, 4 to 6 times as much vitamin D, and seven times more beta carotene.^[1]

Pastured eggs are laid by hens out on pasture. They get plenty of exercise out in the sun. They get to eat fresh grass and live bugs every day. This is how chickens are supposed to live. Not forced to walk across a floor layered in weeks old poop to get to their feed and water. Not crammed into small wire cages with up to eight other hens. Not breathing fecal dust which gets into their lungs, causing inflammation and leading to infections.

Industrial Egg Chickens have Osteoporosis

A hundred years ago the average egg laying hen weighed about 6 pounds and laid around 150 eggs a year. Today, industrial egg layers weigh 3 pounds and lay 300+ eggs in a year. That’s twice the production out of half the weight. That may sound like progress, but it’s not healthy. These hens are much more fragile than heritage breeds that you will find on sustainable farms. They need a very exacting feed ration and can’t be allowed to run around much. they need that energy to go into egg production, not exercise.

In order to keep up the the calcium requirements needed to lay an egg every day, the hen’s body sacrifices her bones in order to get the needed calcium.^[3] Egg shells are made of calcium. Being half the size also means less bone mass to pull from. These hens are not laying smaller eggs. Of course not, that would mean less money.

A standard large egg weighs 2 oz. An industrial hen weighs 48 oz. That’s a lot of weight to be dropping every day. Imagine a 150 pound woman having a 6.5 pound baby every day for a year. That’s all you need to imagine, because industrial laying hens don’t usually live longer than a year.

Is it any wonder that industrial eggs lack the vitamins and nutrients that pastured eggs have?

Animals are meant to be outside.

Not locked inside buildings. Small dirt yards are not enough. Genuine pasture raised chickens are moved every week – sometimes more than once a week – to fresh pasture. This is to keep them from eating up everything in sight. Anyone who has raised backyard chickens in a chicken yard know just how quickly chickens can turn a lush green yard into dirt. That’s what happens when chickens don’t move. Just imagine what 10,000 chickens could do to a yard.

When a farmer puts 10,000 hens in a building together, they’ve created a perfect environment for disease. Pathogens don’t like to travel very far. Their lifespan outside a host is short. They need to find another host soon. Lucky for them, there are plenty to be found in a commercial chicken house. It doesn’t help that living inside under constant light suppresses chickens’ immune systems.^[2] To combat the disease problem created by confinement, commercial farms rely on antibiotics and other drugs.

These chicken farmers live in constant fear of an outbreak that could sweep through their flock leaving thousands dead in a matter of days. They take many precautions. Toxic footbaths and showers at every building entrance to kill pathogens. Screens and concrete to keep out mice, flies, or wild birds. No Trespassing signs and gates to keep out the disease carrying public. These actions come from a place of fear. Fear created by a flawed system.

Chickens raised on pasture don’t need drugs. They’re spread out. They have many times more square footage per chicken. This means that pathogens have a harder time finding a new host. Plus, being out on pasture also means sunshine. Sunshine is the worst thing for a pathogen. Sunshine is the great sanitizer. Sustainable farmers aren’t worried about disease constantly. Disease is rare on a sustainable farm. This, as much as anything, should be proof that sustainable farming is a superior model.

How do you know you’re buying truly pasture raised eggs? First, know the farmer who raises them. Some egg sellers claim pasture raised without knowing what it truly means. They think they’re raising chickens in a pasture when in reality the chickens merely have a large yard. Ask the seller for proof. Do they have any pictures? Better yet, go visit the farm. The best inspection is customer inspection.

References

www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/eggs-zl0z0703zswa
Kliger et al, 2000. “Effects of photoperiod and melatonin on lymphocyte activities in male broiler chickens.” Poultry Science 79:18-25.
www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/nutrition-and-management-poultry/mineral-deficiencies-in-poultry

Don’t Throw Out the Yolks!

January 6, 2017

Paul Chancellor

Don’t Throw Out the Yolks!

Posted in Food for Thought

No Yolks, egg beaters, yolk free omelettes. These products are touted as a health revolution. Finally we’re free from those blasted yolks. So what’s wrong with yolk? Well, nothing really, but they contain Cholesterol and Saturated Fat. Two of the most vilified substances in food.

For years we’ve been told not to eat eggs. They can lead to heart disease, we’re told. The advice worked. Americans now eat approximately 41 fewer eggs per year than a century ago. According to Mary Enig PhD, American’s consumption of saturated fat has decreased by 21% over the course of the 21th century.

What hasn’t changed is the rates of stroke and heart disease. They have not gone down. At best they have merely remained the same. How can this be?

It’s very simple. The advice is wrong.

Saturated Fat and Cholesterol are not Your Enemy

Saturated fats play many important roles in the body. The lungs and kidneys cannot work without saturated fat. Saturated fats provide integrity to the cell walls, promote the use of essential fatty acids, enhance the immune system, protect the liver, and contribute to strong bones.

Our bodies need saturated fat. If we don’t have enough, our body will make it out of carbohydrates and excess protein. Breast milk contains saturated fat. Over half the fat in the brain is saturated fat. Humans have been consuming saturated fats for thousands of years. Heart disease, obesity, stroke, and diabetes are recent epidemics. A century ago they were rare, now they are commonplace.

Naturally occurring cholesterol contributes to the strength of the intestinal wall. Cholesterol helps babies and children develop a healthy brain and nervous system. Food that contains cholesterol also contain many other important nutrients. Only oxidized cholesterol, found in most powdered eggs and milk, contributes to heart disease.

Eggs are a Complete Food

Eggs are nature’s perfect food. Mankind has been eating eggs for millennia. An egg contains all the nutrients needed to grow a chick from embryo to a two day old chick. Egg yolks provide an excellent source of protein. They contain the gamut of vitamins and essential fatty acids that contribute to the health of the brain and nervous system. It’s no wonder that asian cultures value eggs as a brain food.

Most of these vitamins and nutrients are in the yolk. Egg yolks are the most concentrated source known of choline, a B vitamin, that is necessary for keeping cholesterol moving in the bloodstream.

Pastured Eggs are the Best Eggs

The eggs you buy in the supermarket are not the same as the ones you buy at the farmer’s market. It doesn’t matter how many certifications they have or how big they print “Free Range.” Even the organic eggs are raised in the same type of barns as the cheap eggs. Sure, some of them get to run free inside the barn, and they may even have access to outside. Hence the term free range. But having access to a small dirt yard does not make a healthy egg.

Pastured eggs are laid by hens out on pasture. They get to eat fresh grass and live bugs every day. This is how chickens are supposed to live. Not forced to walk across a floor layered in weeks old poop to get to their feed and water.

Properly produced eggs are rich in virtually every nutrient we’ve ever discovered. And many we haven’t yet discovered. Pastured eggs have both Omega-3 and Omega-6 in nearly equal proportions. CAFO eggs have as much as 19 times as much Omega-6 than Omega-3. Many other nutrients necessary for the development of brain are found in pastured eggs but are almost wholly absent in CAFO eggs.

Another problem with commercial organic eggs is freshness. The sell by date on organic eggs is based on the packing date, not the date they were laid. This means that organic eggs could be up to a month older than regular eggs. Certification is no guarantee of quality. If you don’t know where your eggs come from, then you don’t know if they’re any good.

Don’t Eat Powdered Eggs

Powdered eggs contain oxidized cholesterol. Dr. Fred Kummerow said in a new York Times interview: “Cholesterol has nothing to do with heart disease, except if it’s oxidized.” Oxidation happens in the drying process. In order to dry the eggs they must be exposed to air.

Powdered eggs come from industrial cracked eggs. These eggs can’t be sold in cartons so they are separated and sent to a grinder, shells and all. These shells may have manure or chlorine on them. The eggs get pushed through a screen to separate the egg from the shell. They are then dried to make powdered eggs.