cage free eggs
This morning, the New York Times ran a front page article on the increasing demand for cage-free eggs.
In it, they discussed the fact that a number of high profile businesses- among them Ben and Jerry's and Burger King- have recently announced they will only use and purchase cage-free eggs in their products. Consumer awareness that there even is such a thing as "cage free" is increasing.
OK, this is good, at least in principle. But let's never underestimate the American consumer's preference for a nice feel-good slogan over substance.
Battery cages for hens- about the square footage of a laptop computer- are horrendous, and getting rid of them is a good first step (though don't worry, not many factory "farmers" are doing it). But throwing 18,000 chickens into a barn in which each one has barely enough room to turn around isn't the perfect answer.
Cage-free conjures up images of a small, local farm where some chickens run around pecking at their natural food- worms, grass, seed- out in the open air. In practice, it's rarely like that, as Michael Pollan explains in vivid detail in his brilliant book, The Omnivore's Dilemna. To be able to legally say their products come from "cage-free" hens, producers merely have to give "access" to the outdoors, sometimes for as little as two weeks during the year. Frightened, stressed chickens that spend most of their lives in a tiny battery cage sometimes don't even recognize the outdoors, let alone bother to take advantage of the open doggie door.
If you're not a animal rights person, there are still plenty of reasons to care about the conditions under which the animals you eat are raised. Cage-free chickens from small local farms and grass-fed cows eating their natural diet have a higher content of omega-3's in their meat and eggs, and are usually free of additional hormones, antibiotics and steroids. Are cage-free and grass-fed more expensive? Sure. As Pollan says, "pay more and eat less"
I wrote about the whole cage-free/ grass-fed/ organic labeling issue in my book The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. I buy cage-free and organic, and without question grass-fed meat. I'm glad awareness of these categories is increasing and demand is going up.
But the danger is in letting the demand be for the label rather than the concept behind it. (Many dedicated farmers who raise grass-fed cows in the best of conditions may actually not meet the standards for the label "organic", but their product is infintely superior than the meat from factory feedlot confined cows eating "organic grain".
Let's not get too hung up on the label, and let's not lose sight of what the label is supposed to represent. What it represents what we should be demanding.
It's only a matter of time before huge factory feedlots figure out how to get around the spirit of the regulations, while complying with the letter of the law.
Then we'll have plenty of "cage-free" eggs, but not necessarily any healthier hens.
In it, they discussed the fact that a number of high profile businesses- among them Ben and Jerry's and Burger King- have recently announced they will only use and purchase cage-free eggs in their products. Consumer awareness that there even is such a thing as "cage free" is increasing.
OK, this is good, at least in principle. But let's never underestimate the American consumer's preference for a nice feel-good slogan over substance.
Battery cages for hens- about the square footage of a laptop computer- are horrendous, and getting rid of them is a good first step (though don't worry, not many factory "farmers" are doing it). But throwing 18,000 chickens into a barn in which each one has barely enough room to turn around isn't the perfect answer.
Cage-free conjures up images of a small, local farm where some chickens run around pecking at their natural food- worms, grass, seed- out in the open air. In practice, it's rarely like that, as Michael Pollan explains in vivid detail in his brilliant book, The Omnivore's Dilemna. To be able to legally say their products come from "cage-free" hens, producers merely have to give "access" to the outdoors, sometimes for as little as two weeks during the year. Frightened, stressed chickens that spend most of their lives in a tiny battery cage sometimes don't even recognize the outdoors, let alone bother to take advantage of the open doggie door.
If you're not a animal rights person, there are still plenty of reasons to care about the conditions under which the animals you eat are raised. Cage-free chickens from small local farms and grass-fed cows eating their natural diet have a higher content of omega-3's in their meat and eggs, and are usually free of additional hormones, antibiotics and steroids. Are cage-free and grass-fed more expensive? Sure. As Pollan says, "pay more and eat less"
I wrote about the whole cage-free/ grass-fed/ organic labeling issue in my book The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. I buy cage-free and organic, and without question grass-fed meat. I'm glad awareness of these categories is increasing and demand is going up.
But the danger is in letting the demand be for the label rather than the concept behind it. (Many dedicated farmers who raise grass-fed cows in the best of conditions may actually not meet the standards for the label "organic", but their product is infintely superior than the meat from factory feedlot confined cows eating "organic grain".
Let's not get too hung up on the label, and let's not lose sight of what the label is supposed to represent. What it represents what we should be demanding.
It's only a matter of time before huge factory feedlots figure out how to get around the spirit of the regulations, while complying with the letter of the law.
Then we'll have plenty of "cage-free" eggs, but not necessarily any healthier hens.
Labels: cage free organic healthy food
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