What's in the egg?.....carton that is.

Not all eggs are created equal, so it’s important to know what different labels really mean. Since raising our small flock of chickens, I have made it a point to start learning more about said chicks and egg production in general. I recently came across some startling facts about what is approved and considered free-range and organic. Amongst other soap crafters like myself, truth in labeling is a huge priority. And selling under false pretenses or using false advertisement is strongly frowned upon. The more we are striving to become self sufficient for our food needs as a family the more surprising and at times shocking information we are learning along the way. Things that in my mind could be described as approved deceptive advertising or deceptive measures that are allowed to be used to make sales.

In the most recent Grit magazine there is an article on backyard/urban chickens. In the pages of said article there is a side bar listing information about commercial eggs and understanding labels. The basic explanations are listed below.

“Cage Free,” “Free Range” or “Free Roaming.” None of these terms are currently regulated by the U.S. government, although there are some third-party verification programs (see below). Nevertheless, “free range” usually means the laying hens are raised in large flocks in big open warehouses rather than in stacked cages. They can walk around, flap their wings and preen their feathers a little. “Cage-free” does not mean outdoor access. “Free-range” implies some outdoor access, although it is probably very limited, and on dirt or concrete rather than pasture.

“Certified Humane.” Humane Farm Animal Care operates a certification program specifying that laying hens are uncaged, with access to perches, nest boxes and dust-bathing areas. There are stocking-density maximums but outdoor access is not required. Debeaking is allowed; starvation to induce molting is prohibited.

“Certified Organic.” Production methods must comply with the USDA National Organic Program, including organic, vegetarian feed, no use of antibiotics and no cages. Debeaking and forced molting by starvation are allowed. Organic standards require producers to “maintain livestock living conditions which accommodate the health and natural behavior of the animals.” How much access to the outdoors this requires for chickens is still being hotly debated. At this time, on large organic chicken farms, it may mean nothing more than a small door opening onto a concrete yard.

“Omega 3.” All eggs contain small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, thought to be beneficial to human health. Omega-3 levels in eggs can be raised by supplementing the birds’ diet with things such as fish oil, flax seed or alfalfa meal (or by simply allowing the birds to forage on lawn or pasture).

What is debeaking? If you want to learn more about the horrors of debeaking just google it. You will be shocked. Debeaking is carried out on most commercial laying hens when they are chicks. The practice allows up to half of the upper beak and one third of the lower beak to be cut off with a hot blade. However, since the beaks of young chicks are so small, it is hard to judge accurately and sometimes more is cut off. Debeaking is done in an attempt to minimize the injuries caused when hens peck each other from being stressed from being kept lifelong in cramped conditions.

The Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC), set up by the UK government, has described this mutilation as, " a serious welfare insult to the hen".

Research scientist Dr Phil Glatz has described the pain and stress of debeaking as follows:
" In the short term beak trimming is likely to be stressful in a number of ways. The hen has to be approached, caught and restrained by the operator - a procedure which has been shown to evoke fear in hens. The procedure of cutting and cauterizing the beak of the hen with a heated blade is likely to result in acute short term pain because of the presence of cutaneous afferent nerves in the beak which respond to thermal stimuli. Furthermore, the beak of hens contains mechanoreceptors which when removed appear to impair the mechanical ability of the beak to pick up food both in the short and long term. "

What is the evidence that debeaking is painful?

*Debeaked hens lose weight and eat less for several weeks (2-4). In part, reduced food intake is due to inefficient feeding - debeaked birds have more difficulty picking up food and have to peck several times before they succeed in picking it up. However, if local anesthetic is applied to the beak, debeaked birds don't eat less in the first 24 hours, so the difference is also due to pain in the beak stump.
*When beak stumps are dissected at various times after debeaking, it is evident that nerve endings grow back in a tangled mass called a neuroma. The development of neuromas has been described as follows (5):
" At 10 days there was evidence of nerve regrowth with some enlargement of the end of the nerve. This regeneration and regrowth of the nerve fibres continued so that by 15 days clear neuroma was present at the end of the nerve stump together with numerous bundles of regenerating fibres. These regenerating fibres continued to grow but, because of the adjacent scar tissue, were unable to innervate dermal structures and consequently the fibres grew back on themselves to form a complex mass of intertwining regenerating nerve fibres together with the surrounding tissue. "Abnormal discharges have been observed in these neuromas, even when the nerves are not stimulated. This has led researchers to conclude that hens suffer chronic pain in the beak stump, much like the pain suffered by many human amputees (6).
*Another indication of chronic pain is that debeaked birds are less active - they spend more time dozing/resting and less time pecking/preening (7-9). Such inactivity is a common long term response to pain in animals.

What is Forced Molting? What is Forced Molting?

The practice of starving hens for profit is known as forced-molting. Molting literally refers to the replacement of old feathers by new ones. In nature, birds replace all their feathers in the course of a year to maintain good plumage at all times. A natural molt often happens at the onset of winter, when nature discourages the hatching of chicks. The hen stops laying eggs and concentrates her energies on staying warm and growing new feathers.

The egg industry exploits this natural process by forcing an entire flock to molt simultaneously. This is done to manipulate the marketplace and to pump a few hundred more eggs out of exhausted hens when it is deemed cheaper to "recycle" them rather than immediately slaughter them after a year of relentless egg- laying on a calcium-deficient diet.

To trigger the physiological shock of the forced molt, a University of California poultry researcher (Donald Bell) recommends the removal of all food for no less than five days and as long as fourteen days. Survivors may be force-molted two or three times, based on economics. At any given time over 6 million hens in the U.S. are being systematically starved in their cages, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dr. Peter Dun, an animal scientist from Scotland, said hens are force molted in the United States "until their combs turn blue."

Pretty shocking information especially if you are one who purchases organic, free range, etc believing that you are not only buying healthier eggs but that the animals raised for those eggs are treated better. I think most people have visions of farm raised chickens leading a happy little life on the farm with Pa and Ma Kettle collecting eggs every day to sale to the store for you to purchase. When in fact this is furthest from the truth. I dare you to Google any one of the acceptable practices on commercial chickens I listed above, then tell me your stomach does not turn.

Just in case someone thinks it, yes as a family we still eat primarily Raw Vegetarian (If anyone questions my previous blogs suggesting the benefits of including more raw in your diet, I am still growing my garden which I will take photos on soon and blog on my success this season with my square foot beds.), I never said we were 100% Vegan (just working towards it). Nor are we a family of activists, but we do respect all life. Including those of God's creatures and feel that if animals are going to be used to supply us food they need not be abused and raised in a respectful manner not crammed in tight quarters and mutilated for whatever reasons. I was raised on a farm most my life. My grandparents and great-grandparents were farmers and I am sure their parents before them were as well. I choose to support my local farmers and growers as much as possible. I choose to learn to grow my own and raise my own as much as I am capable. Our whole family is learning a lot doing so and are growing closer through it. It is fun and is a great opportunity for the adults and children alike. If anything this revelation of trickery in advertisement and the measures approved by FDA regarding food production reinforces the need to support our local farmers. I can drive down my road alone and count several signs in front of homes offering farm fresh eggs from their own backyard hens. Even in an urban environment it should not be hard to find someone local to you that would be more than happy to sell you some of the best tasting, healthy farm fresh eggs from well cared for happy hens for the same or close tot he same price you are seeing in stores. Take the first step knowing where your food comes from, you will be glad you did.

Chickens are inexpensive animals to keep, and many are prolific egg producers. A good laying hen will lay about 5 eggs a week. So, if you have 2 chickens you will get 10 eggs a week, or thereabouts, 4 chickens, 20 eggs and so on.