So Here’s the Thing about Chickens
“When chickens get to live like chickens, they'll taste like chickens, too.”
― Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Chickens, my friend, are not vegetations. To the great annoyance of my girls, this fact is repeated each time we find ourselves standing in front of the egg section in the grocery store trying to determine which brand will not only taste the best but is also sourced from happy chickens, as we like to call them. “All natural vegetarian diet” is front and center on the labelling of many of the eggs we buy. Sounds great right? The only problem is that truly free-range chickens will happily spend the day hunting down and devouring any sort of moving object it can find–including moths, grasshoppers, grubs, larvae, worms, and even the occasional mouse or frog. It’s a great way to pass time and and important source of protein for their diet.
So if chickens are meant to hunt and peak and scratch for their daily protein sources, when did this notion of vegetarian cluckers as a good, healthier option start?
It all began when it got out that that many animals raised in commercial operations were being fed processed feeds containing animal-byproducts as their source of protein. Ok that’s not so bad. I mean who doesn’t love a good NY city hotdog. Am I right? That’s another conversation….
However, the “animal by-products” that pop up in ingredient lists in various animal feeds can include blood, same-species meat, feathers, rendered road kill, and euthanized dogs and cats. YUCK!
So as everyone started paying more attention to what animals were eating, laws stated to change. And if most people had to choose, eggs from chickens fed a vegetarian diet sounded much better than eggs from chickens fed who knows what.
Now, a carton of eggs labeled “vegetarian” means that the chicken was fed a diet free of animal by-products. In addition, all USDA Certified Organic eggs must come from chickens fed a completely vegetarian diet consisting of certified organic grains.
That’s a good thing right? Not so fast. A chicken in its natural environment is NOT going to be vegetarian and “vegetarian” eggs probably come from chickens that are not allowed to roam about as they like. The diet of a honest-to-goodness “free-range, pasture raised” chicken will most definitely include creepy-crawlies of all kinds, producing eggs with a deep yellow yolk that are abundantly more healthy. The benefits of these free roaming, grub eating ladies are many.
A chicken that is not allowed to partake of it’s natural bug rich diet and strut around freely in an open pasture, is not a happy chicken and does not produce happy, healthy eggs.
So what is an egg lover like myself to do? While I am not in a position to raise my own chickens, which would be my first choice, my daughter Anna and her beau Scott have just embarked on this adventure. Lucky me!!
Anna and Scott’s baby chicks
What I can do however, is pay attention to where my eggs and chickens come from. The best option is to do a bit of research and source your birds and eggs locally. Most farmers will likely be happy to answer any questions and give you a walk about around the place. Beyond, that, there are brands that meet all of the criteria for producing eggs from happy, healthy grub eating ladies. My favorite is Vital Farms. And to be clear, they have certainly never heard of me and I am not getting anything in return for mentioning them here. I just really believe in what they do and their eggs are fabulous! They make the most lovely parmesan and fresh chive omelet or frittata.
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So the next time you are pondering your choices at the market, take a second to distinguish between what you think you are buying what the carefully designed, but often incomplete label, implies you are buying. Happy roaming!
Sources
1. http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/our-failing-food-system/industrial-agriculture/they-eat-what-the-reality-of.html
2. http://animalwelfareapproved.org/standards/animal-byproducts/
3.http://nofavt.org/assets/files/pdf/VOF/Guidelines%20for%20Certification%20of%20Organic%20Poultry.pdf
4. https://vitalfarms.com/