| Author |
Barnyard Buddies:  Eggs....does cage free necessarily mean organic?  |
|
Patsy
True Blue Farmgirl
592 Posts
Illinois
USA
592 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 10 2007 : 06:35:53 AM
|
I buy cage free eggs from the local market. But then they have organic eggs too. On the cage free carton, it doesn't say organic so do you think they are not organic? I am totally confused now.
They are close to the same price so that doesn't really make a difference but I want to buy the healthier ones.
What do you all think? Help.
Blessed are those who love the soil,
Patsy
|
|
|
MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2007 : 06:45:26 AM
|
I don't know if they are organic or not but there was a small article in this month's Mother Earth News about the difference between cage free chickens and the mass market chickens. The cage free chickens had less cholesterol, more omega 3s, beta carotene and vitamin E in their eggs. It goes on to say how the commercial egg industry has pumped chickens full of chemicals and drugs to try to produce low cholesterol eggs with no avail. Natural is better...but of course all of us farm girls already knew that.  It's on page 11-12 of the magazine.
Blessings....
Sarah
"In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." -From The Great Law Of The Iroquois Confederacy.
|
 |
|
|
Marybeth
True Blue Farmgirl
6418 Posts
Mary Beth
Stanwood
Wa 98292
USA
6418 Posts |
|
|
happymama58
True Blue Farmgirl
1210 Posts
Patti
Missouri
USA
1210 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2007 : 09:07:19 AM
|
Marybeth is right. I met a lady who raises chickens organically and sells the eggs to restaurants in the city (St. Louis). She said her chickens range "free", but in actuality they are in large pens that are covered with some sort of netting, not only to protect them from flying predators but to keep them from getting out and eating grass or whatever that is not her property and that may have been sprayed or treated. I really wasn't listening too close -- I was waiting at the farmer's market last summer to buy some of her eggs -- and she was telling this to another customer. So I don't remember much more than that. I don't know much about chickens, so I don't know how far they'd roam or anything like that. But anyway, that's what she was saying. Hope it helps and doesn't confuse
Some people search for happiness; others create it.
http://happymama58.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Please visit me at www.marykay.com/pmiinch |
Edited by - happymama58 on Feb 10 2007 09:07:46 AM |
|
|
|
Persephone
True Blue Farmgirl
172 Posts
Katrina
Indiana
USA
172 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2007 : 09:22:34 AM
|
| If you're talking about Eggland's Best, then you can assume that your cage "free" hens are actually in slightly larger cages than the "regular" eggs, and have some air flow through their cages. They may have "access" to outdoors, but that doesn't mean your chickens are happily pecking and scratching around outside. "Organic" means that they are fed all organic feed, and aren't given hormones or antibiotics- in a healthy small scale organic farm situation, this is wonderful, but in a factory farm situation, it means that the chickens are sicker more often, and harder to cure. A great book to read about this is "Omnivore's Dilemma". :) |
|
|
|
willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2007 : 10:05:49 AM
|
Persephone is right ofter cage free or free range only refers to the fact that a chicken has ACCESS to the outdoors. Doesn't meen that they really are outdoors. It is very misleading.
Jewelry, art, baskets, etc.
www.willowartist.etsy.com
www.willowtreecreek.com |
|
|
|
DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2007 : 10:38:33 AM
|
Persephone and Julie are right on the money. All the free-ranging in the world will not make a chicken lay organic eggs if it is not fed organic, non GE feed/grain and allowed to graze on herbicide & pesticide sprayed pastures.
We have all kinds of fancy names here for non-organic, commercially produced eggs..."Natures Best", "Omega", etc. etc. ad nauseum. Personally, I wouldn't touch any of them.
Responsible organic farmers will also have a good plan in place to deal with the volumes of manure hens produce as well, so as not to pollute watercourses and groundwater.
Di |
|
|
|
MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2007 : 12:44:14 PM
|
Looks like us farmgirls need to go into the free range chicken/egg business. Chickens don't generally roam very far and they always go in to roost at night. I can hardly wait till I'm back out in the country so I can have chickens. They are so benefitial too eating up insects.
Blessings....
Sarah
"In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." -From The Great Law Of The Iroquois Confederacy.
|
|
|
|
Shirley
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Shirley
Olympia
Wa
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2007 : 1:29:27 PM
|
To know if they are REALLY organic, it has to say Certified Organic,by the agricultural dept.(USDA)
Read the small print, I say one the other day that said certified in big letters, but it look like it was certified by thier person from thier company. I am amazed the crap they get away with in this country that they call food.
shirley |
|
|
|
westernhorse51
True Blue Farmgirl
1681 Posts
michele
farmingdale
n.j.
USA
1681 Posts |
Posted - Feb 11 2007 : 07:16:14 AM
|
caged doesn't mean organic but I think it's still better.
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
|
|
|
westernhorse51
True Blue Farmgirl
1681 Posts
michele
farmingdale
n.j.
USA
1681 Posts |
Posted - Feb 11 2007 : 07:17:31 AM
|
sorry, meant CAGED FREE!
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
|
|
|
ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Feb 11 2007 : 08:14:25 AM
|
If you see "hormone free" on a label it's a marketing scheme. Don't fall for it. It is illegal to raise poultry on hormones in the United States. Look for antibiotic free. Free range means access to the outdoors, often on dirt instead of grass, but does not guarantee the birds are outside on pasture living a decent life.
Organic means the birds are fed organic food and are not given synthetic medications but they can be treated horribly. The USDA label doesn't mean a thing when it comes to humane treatment.
Cage free doesn't mean outdoors or uncrowded. They're very often raised the same way as cage free turkeys on industrial farms - crowded, pecking at dead birds and walking in manure.
Knowing where your food comes from and how it was raised is as important and knowing what these labels truly mean. I whole heartedly agree with MaryBeth. "Organic" should mean outdoors, on pasture. I believe firmly that it should also requre humane treatment and a good life for the bird/animal. Unfortunately, the gov't had watered down the original meaning of organic to fit the industrial farms that hire lobbiests to pad pockets. There's a very important question we should all be asking ourselves, if we haven't already. Are these the people you trust well enough to trust the USDA's label?
Robin
www.outdoorwriter.wordpress.com
www.thymeforewe.com
|
|
|
|
simpler1773
True Blue Farmgirl
234 Posts
Ricki
Ashland
Wisconsin
USA
234 Posts |
Posted - Feb 11 2007 : 11:12:09 AM
|
Thank you Robin ~ I was just going to say that cage free doesn't mean organic, but organic doesn't mean cage free, either.
I love my chickens! I give eggs away to all of my friends and family and still have lots left over for us. Maybe some of you can find someone raising free range chickens close by?
~Ricki~
You can't pour anything out of an empty vessel, take care of yourself! |
|
|
|
babs
True Blue Farmgirl
226 Posts
Babette
MN
USA
226 Posts |
Posted - Feb 11 2007 : 3:28:35 PM
|
I'm meandering from the topic now, but Sarah mentioned business and of course my ears perked. I get a lot of mail looking for eating eggs on a regular basis. Folks assume since we sell eggs for hatching we must also have some for eating. However, I have not looked into what it would take for the sale of eating eggs. That said... if ANY of you decide to do this as a business, I would have a ready customer list and a place to sell them as a secondary point of distribution. (www.countryegg.com)
Babs |
|
|
|
Tracey
True Blue Farmgirl
766 Posts
Tracey
State of Confusion
USA
766 Posts |
Posted - Feb 13 2007 : 12:20:12 AM
|
Define 'market'. Are you meaning a farmer's market, or just the local grocer? You'll find a better quality egg at the farmer's market in general.
Even organic is misleading often times. My chickens aren't organic, but they're treated better than some that are labeled organic. And to be honest, I'd rather my critters were able to have medication if they need it instead of just being tossed aside.
Also good to know about labeling organic; if you follow standards but produce less than (hmmm...not recalling the dollar amount at the moment), you can tell folks you're organic without becoming certified.
Visit Quiet Storm, our adopted Mustang! http://wildaboutquietstorm.com
http://carpentercreek.blogspot.com http://mustangdiaries.blogspot.com http://marbletownangels.blogspot.com
|
|
|
|
ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Feb 13 2007 : 02:39:40 AM
|
If you earn less than $5,000 you can legally call your produce organic. Above that, the the gov't doesn't let you use their word unless you're certified.
quote:
Even organic is misleading often times. My chickens aren't organic, but they're treated better than some that are labeled organic. And to be honest, I'd rather my critters were able to have medication if they need it instead of just being tossed aside.
So would I. There's nothing sustainable about a dead animals.
Robin
www.outdoorwriter.wordpress.com
www.thymeforewe.com
|
|
|
|
Patsy
True Blue Farmgirl
592 Posts
Illinois
USA
592 Posts |
Posted - Feb 15 2007 : 10:24:11 AM
|
I found free range, cage free, organic eggs. Phew....That is as close as I can some to what I should be getting. lol
Blessed are those who love the soil,
Patsy
|
|
|
|
Love-in-a-Mist
True Blue Farmgirl
367 Posts
Shannon
Independence
Oregon
USA
367 Posts |
Posted - Feb 16 2007 : 07:50:14 AM
|
I sold free range eggs at the Farmers Market last year because at the time I didn't keep them penned up or feed them chicken food. Since then my favorite hen was killed by a hawk and I want some eggs to hatch, so they are locked up now.
I looked into selling organic eggs, but everything has to be organic, the dirt they are on, the water they drink, any bugs they should happen to eat and organic food cost $22 dollars for a 50 lb bag opposed to $11. And you can get in trouble for calling them organic if they are not certified organic, which costs more money to get them certified. And the government regulates how many eggs you can sell. It's around 220 per person a year, I can't remember exactly.
Even so, me and another lady sold eggs last year and we were always sold out. People would race to get there first to get eggs. Some even showed up before we were offically open. There is not that much money in it though, unless you live near a big city where people are willing to pay over $3 a carton. Around here you mostly break even and do it for pleasure.
Farmgirl and mother of 2 |
|
|
|
Tracey
True Blue Farmgirl
766 Posts
Tracey
State of Confusion
USA
766 Posts |
|
|
Love-in-a-Mist
True Blue Farmgirl
367 Posts
Shannon
Independence
Oregon
USA
367 Posts |
Posted - Feb 16 2007 : 2:05:07 PM
|
Tracey,
Thanks for the info. I'll look it up online and see exactly what I have to do. We do have a field close to them that gets fertilized, I'm not sure if that would count or what the regs. would be on that. If I could make it worth the extra food costs I would love to offer them to people. Also does anyone buy them at the health food grocery stores? I was wondering about how much their organic eggs are?
Farmgirl and mother of 2 |
|
|
|
Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Feb 17 2007 : 03:51:18 AM
|
This is one ting I wish could be clairified in the "twigs and berries" market.
Everyting that can be broken back down to the earth is organic.
More specifically, labels ought to say "all natural" for no preservatives and "pesticide free" in place of organic.
I fell into this trap when I recenlty purchased some rather expensive "organic" dog food. I never thought to look for the certified organic label, or to inspect the ingredient list more finely. So my pooch is eating an all natural diet w/o grains, and the ingredient list sounds ore like a shopping list for Julia Childs cooking school, but the little green label we all see- isn't there. So the big pretty labels on the front of packaging is one thing, but I'm learning more and more to really search out labels and look for the certifications.
|
|
|
|
ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
|
|
oceanfarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
231 Posts
Rachel
A Little Closer to Heaven
Oregon Coast
USA
231 Posts |
Posted - Feb 17 2007 : 10:07:09 AM
|
I buy eggs that are labeled Cage Free, and also claim to feed no antibiotics, fed an all vegetarian diet. (which I will insert to mean that they are not free range chickens, of they would be omnivorous) I pay over 2.50 at *gasp* Wal-Mart, and I'm understanding more and more that they are really not the eggs I would like to have. In searching on line about city chickens, I found out that no antibiotics is not necesarily good as far as health in large populations of birds. I found out that chickens given free range, and allowed to forage, eat a variety of foods, including meat. So vegetarian can also (not always) mean that the chickens aren't getting a ballanced diet. Some one here mentioned that hormone free is an oximoron, because egg layers aren't allowed to be fed hormone? (i think) Of course the box of my eggs has a lovely picture of chickens scratching in bron of a barn... Not, I'd be willing to bet, and ACTUAL picture of the egg's origin. Those chickens of my own are looking better and better every day...
rachel
See what I'm up to on my blog... http://minetothine.blogspot.com
OR check out my gardening activities at http://oceanfarmgirlsgarden.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
Love-in-a-Mist
True Blue Farmgirl
367 Posts
Shannon
Independence
Oregon
USA
367 Posts |
Posted - Feb 17 2007 : 3:55:00 PM
|
Rachel, I was reading a book last night about how great chicken manure is for your garden too (after it's composted, or it will burn plants). I wonder if letting them roost in your garage is the same as keeping them "inside". You could put them out during the day, like you would a dog.
Farmgirl and mother of 2
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t290/dollieleah/horsepic.jpg |
|
|
|
Bluewrenn
True Blue Farmgirl
1122 Posts
Erin
Texas
USA
1122 Posts |
|
|
oceanfarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
231 Posts
Rachel
A Little Closer to Heaven
Oregon Coast
USA
231 Posts |
|
|
Barnyard Buddies: Eggs....does cage free necessarily mean organic? |
|
Eggs....does cage free necessarily mean organic?
