Ok, rant time. Can I just say that there are two things I hate buying at the grocery store? They are relatively similar but very different: chicken and eggs.
First off, why is chicken so expensive? Are chickens not prolific creatures? Even conventional birds are pricey, and god forbid you want meat that’s somewhat humane and actually fit for human consumption. Organic, free range chicken in the Bay Area is at least $7 a pound at the butcher counter, and we can pay anywhere from $6-9 a pound in those little plastic-wrapped packages. And I don’t know about you guys, but those vacuum sealed things give me the creeps. Meat is not supposed to soak in its own juices unless the bird in question is still alive. It’s not good for the texture of the meat and it certainly doesn’t contribute to any sense of “freshness.”
And don’t get me started on eggs – I can’t even tell you how much egg guilt I have. Every time I go to the grocery store, I sit there for 10 minutes staring at row after row of egg cartons, and honestly, I never know which to buy. It seems like there are 50 different choices, many of which are some mixture of free range or organic. But how do you know for sure what’s really free range? Do the chickens that laid these eggs have actual space to run around outside, and for how many hours a day do they have that freedom? Or do they just have a window in their cramped little cells? I know I can buy eggs at the farmers market, which is what I try to do, but honestly, paying $7 for a dozen eggs is a little ridiculous in this economy.
My goal is to eventually raise my own poultry so I have all the chicken and eggs I can eat. I’ll know exactly where they came from, I’ll know exactly what they ate, and I’ll know exactly what lifestyle they’ve lived and what sort of freedoms they’ve had. Unfortunately I don’t have the space to do that right now, but I can guarantee you that someday soon, I will live in a place large enough to raise my own chickens so that I don’t have to deal with this stupid confusion anymore.
What are your thoughts on buying chicken and eggs? I’m interested in hearing your opinions and struggles, and I’d love any advice you can offer.
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
You have a lot more choices than I do here in Buffalo. My grocery store does sell organic chicken, chicken breasts and thighs as well as organic eggs, but as far as I can tell, none of it is free range and all they have is the store brand. I haven’t asked where it is from, but since I found out the organic beef is flown in from CHILE I can’t even imagine. I have bought eggs at the farmer’s market but chicken is not available there. I’ve bought chicken from a farmer out in the boondocks, but it’s very, very far away (an hour and a half). It’s definitely a conundrum.
Argh, how frustrating. We do have a lot of options, and I can’t imagine making it even more difficult with fewer choices. Ugh.
Have you looked into a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)? Sometimes they deliver to your door even! I love getting the local CSA eggs — free-range, local, fresh. The eggs also aren’t uniform always — different colors and sizes. Waaaay better than grocery-store eggs.
Ours doesn’t do eggs, but a few others do – I should probably consider this when deciding which to use in the future. Thanks
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the single condition for the term ‘free-range’ is that birds have access to the outdoors. All other facets of a free-range life can be indistinguishable from the living conditions of a conventional-raised bird..
University of California-Davis poultry specialist, Ralph Ernst reports: “Most free-range birds are still fenced in corrals, though people like to imagine the birds are out roaming the range. They’re not out exercising.”
ugh..
If i could get up in time on the wknds i’d go to cityslicker farms for very fresh truly free range eggs.
http://www.cityslickerfarms.org/WhatWeDo.htm
Thanks you for this! Very useful information. I didn’t know City Slicker had eggs – REALLY??? They’re like five minutes from me!
Yes, getting eggs at the farmer’s market seems like the best option, but you have to get there so early! The co-op here in Sacto really doesn’t have cruelty-free/pastured eggs. Chickens are as you report, but I haven’t given up searching the Capay Valley area, which seems to have a lot of great organic farms and CSAs. I’ll report back if I find good chickens!
Please do! If you can vouch first-hand for a farm, I’m so all over their eggs. Thanks, my dear!
Argh! I just check the regulations for labelling “Free-range” in New Zealand and they are basically non-existent. Great. Who knows what I’ve been buying all these years.
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Oh no! Not that the regulations are much better here…
Totally agree! I only buy organic chicken and organic, free-range eggs. Although ever since I saw something my husband posted on FB –footage of what they do with all the male chicks — I have been trying to use fewer eggs. Don’t ask me to explain the footage. Let’s just say it is very, very wrong. And happens even when the chickens are raised organically. Sigh.
Oh dear. I probably don’t want to know. I hadn’t thought of that…
Karen, I saw that and it also made me sick. I also felt stupid that I’d never once in my life thought about what value a male chick would have in the egg industry and therefore what might happen to them. (They can’t be raised for meat because those types of chickens are bred for good egg production ability.) And then I read that even farmers who do have free roaming chickens often get their hens from the same hatcheries.
I’m finding it very hard as well. I gave up meat (more or less) last year for animal welfare reasons and I was glad that at least I could still have dairy and eggs if I got ones from farms that raise them humanely. But since learning about this I’ve cut way back on the eggs (can’t bring myself to give them up altogether).
Ok, so now I need to know… what happens to the make chicks? What is this link you’ve both seen?
I completely understand your rant. I have humongous egg guilt when going to stores….I just got to find a place that can send eggs from the farm or something : P
If you find such a place, please tell me where it is!
I would LOVE to have chicken and fresh eggs at home, but the predators where we live are brutal. My border collie could help protect them at times during the day, but the coops have to be like Fort Knox. A neighbor had a really nice one, but the foxes still got in on the first night. Super sad.
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Yeah, that’s one problem with chickens. Our neighbors have a coop and there’s always a hawk perched on the tree above it, trying to figure out how to get in…
We have predators, too. Coyotes as well as foxes. And, I do not have the energy/knowledge required although people say it’s easy.
We rarely buy chicken these days. When I do buy it, only from the veggie/fruit store, which has started stocking a no-hormones, free-range variety from Amish country. And, eggs? Same store has amazing local eggs. Seeing and tasting the difference made me stop buying the supermarket brand.
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Once you taste fresh eggs, you can’t go back. I had eggs at some chain in Oregon a few weeks ago – UGH. Then I found out they came from a carton. Great.
I get my organic eggs at cost (long story), so I’m sticking with them. I’d tried to stick to free range, organic, locally raised chicken in the past, but I just can’t afford it right now. So, lately, we’ve been buying the cheap crap that comes in plastic wrap.
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We all do what we can with what we’ve got! Ain’t no one here going to judge you.
We buy all of our chicken and most of our eggs through the Soul Food Farms CSA. It’s not cheap, but to me it’s worth it. Free Range is such a BS term — all it means is there’s a little door in the barn (that the chickens never notice or see, because their feed is inside). The key word is “pasture-raised”.
I know $7 a dozen seems awful compared with the $2 or whatever in the supermarket. But think about how much protein you’re getting and it’s a bargain compared with raw milk or sustainably raised meat. And egg farming is not rocket science, but it is a labor-intensive operation. Having seen the Soul Food egg operation first hand (I even helped gather, wash, and box eggs one afternoon) I feel a lot less grumbly about that $7.
So here’s my pet peeve: Just because you’re buying eggs at the farmers market doesn’t mean they’re pastured or humanely raised. There’s a vendor at the Ferry Plaza who is a front for a huge egg factory farm! (If you want to read my further rantings on the subject, they’re here: <a href="http://marriedwithdinner.com/2008/11/01/what-the-cluck/" What the Cluck?)
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What, what? That’s really, really shitty. WTF!!
I’ve never heard of Soul Food, but I’m definitely going to check them out. Thanks!
i buy eggs from organic farms
Great post!
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Thanks!!
I, too, suffer from chicken and egg guilt. However, I live in Dubai and although we get everything we need here, if you are looking to buy happy and organic, you have to really really fork out a fortune, as most of it is imported from Europe. At a cost.
What makes me feel better about going for the affordable options is that even if chicken and eggs were not necessarily happy in their lifetime (hmm, consumable eggs are not really alive, are they? Never mind..), at least they didn’t rake up an enormous carbon footprint being flown over here. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it…
Interesting. How much are organic, pasture-raised eggs in Dubai?? We all do what we can with what we’ve got, and sometimes we have to make exceptions. It’s hard to make these decisions!
I also live in Dubai and have major egg guilt amongst other animal related guilt! (I haven’t eaten meat in 22 years) but you can buy local ”free range” eggs here in special stores and also there are some local brands if you have a good look. I can’t understand, however, how these companies are allowed to get away with charging ridiculous amounts of money for fake free range eggs – surely there should be more standards and checks. Plus, why on earth charge so much more? Is our society that cruel and uncaring that we want to make it impossible for many people to afford the more humane option and then those that can afford are still buying eggs that sometimes aren’t hardly any different from Battery farmed products. I get that they want to make money, but what about the organisations that are meant to protect the consumer and the live product? They probably get paid off. It’s just really wrong, I find it very upsetting. I watched a programme where a farmer rescued battery farmed hens. It was horrendous to see the state of them.
I like buying organic chicken when I can. The costs have skyrocketed and it’s just amazing how much more you have to pay. And eggs? So very confusing. I once interviewed an egg expert and she was not in favor of “free range” since she said that just means the birds can roam around, and you never know what they end up snacking on…maybe one another’s feces or something even worse. Sometimes I feel it’s just a leap of faith to trust what you are eating is safe.
Oh wow. I’d love to read this article – care to share the link?
I only buy organic meat now. Eggs I’m not quite so picky about.
I feel your pain. We are fortunate to have several farms around us, two of whom supply the tiny local store, so I do know where the eggs come from. The birds are truly free-range – well, within a protective fence – and the eggs are head and tail-feathers above the dren they sell at the supermarket. As a bonus, being in a small town means I’m only paying 4-5 a dozen, not 7-8. Yikes!
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I miss small town life, where freshness isn’t a commodity. Sigh!!
Stephanie, I stumbled upon your blog while looking for a cream fraiche recipe, and kept clicking and here I am at an entry that is close to my heart…Hens Eggs.
I moved from the Bay Area to the foothills of Redding and have 12 acres. And chickens!! I LOVE my hens. They have free rein of my land all day and put themselves to bed at night. I go in the hen house when it is dark and shut their “hen” door. They are so happy and it shows in their egg production. I have 17 hens and one rooster and I am getting a dozen eggs a day. The yolks are deep yellow and firm. The shells are hard with tight pores. The taste is beyond any store bought egg.
I would encourage readers to scan Craigslist in the farm and garden section for eggs for sale. Even in the Bay Area and other cities there must be people with chickens that commute to the city and can bring eggs to sell. I sell a dozen “free farm range” (no confinement at all) for $3/dozen, not even close to what it costs to keep the chickens, but it is fun it helps pay for their upkeep. (Their hen house is an 8 x 10 shed that cost $1,700 so I will never break even). But I would not change a thing. Even a small backyard city lot can house 2 hens. They are quiet and so packed with personality!
The thought of buying eggs from factory-farmed chickens in battery cages, 8 to a cage in huge warehouses versus eggs from stress-free, happy hens does make a difference in taste and conscience.