Eggs – A Meal in a Shell

The lowly egg has been a staple in our lives for centuries. It is believed that the chicken was probably domesticated from jungle birds somewhere around 7500 BCE. Records of chicken have been found in Egypt by 1500 BCE. Take a minute to search out eggs on the internet you will be amazed what you will learn about the lowly egg. Chicken, quail, pheasant, duck, ostrich, gull, emu, guineafowl, goose, depending on the part of the planet on which we live we eat eggs, lots of them in every format from raw to hardboiled. In fact in preparation for writing this blog I was amazed how many ways different cultures prepare eggs. For example in Columbia, quail eggs are considered a staple and are considered a topping often affixed to a hamburger.
While I was at it I even discovered that the egg carton as created by Joseph Coyle from British Columbia because a farmer and the owner of Aldermere Hotel were arguing over broken eggs.
Everybody has their favorite way to have eggs: served sunny-side up, with their toast for breakfast; hard-boiled with mayonnaise, between two slices of great of bread with lettuce for lunch; or an omelet with tons of vegetables for a great evening meal. Some even like them pickled. I like Quail eggs served on sushi. We bake with them, whip, flip, coddle. There are literally hundreds of recipes for everything from raw to hardboiled.
Eggs are very good for us but the subject of chickens and eggs has had much discussion over the years. Some have their eggs as egg white omelets because the white contain proteins but almost no fat, a great benefit for those who like eggs but are concerned about cholesterol and fat. Others have simply decided they won’t support the poultry industry, avoiding eggs and poultry altogether. Anyone who watched "Food.Inc" may have decided never to eat poultry or eggs ever again.
When shopping for eggs it is a bit of a guessing game. If you are like me I was confused looking at all the labels on egg cartons, free-range or free-run, omega-3 or organic. That question inspired my subject for this wee. All free-range or free-run chickens in Canada live in free range barns, not in a battery cage. That is what makes the eggs more expensive. Free range birds have a “get out of the barn” pass. It requires a level of bio-security to protect from the risks of diseases such as Avian Flu. Chickens each have private nesting boxes in the barn. Ground laid eggs may not be sold.
I was under the mistaken idea that chickens in Canada fair much better than their relatives to the south and to a certain extent that is true. All the Canadian egg producing farms added together equal to the population of one factory farm in the US. Unfortunately the reality for the majority is that over 98% of eggs still come from battery cage chickens on both sides of the border.
Over 90% of chickens are raised on family run farms. Canadian poultry farmers have strict rules for their industry. Unlike the factory farms in the US, chickens in Canada are raised in well ventilated, climate-controlled, well lit barns where they are roaming freely. They are not packed into overpopulated barns. They do not have their beaks trimmed and they are not given growth hormones or steroids. But those are the poultry farms not egg producers.
Depending on how they are raised chickens are fed a variety of diets and but if the chicken has been fed a diet of soybeans it produces triethylamine in their intestine which creates a slightly fishy smelling that ends up in the egg. Eggs that are high in omega-3 fatty acids are as a result of the hens being fed a diet of polyunsaturated fats and kelp meal.
On the other side free-range hens can produce unpredictable eggs depending on what they are eating. Personally a chicken who scratches for a living is as happy as a chicken gets and that is what I want.
It is accepted science that free-range or free-run chickens produce better, more nutritious eggs. Battery cage birds do not have space to do what happy chickens do: nest, roost, stretch, flap their wings, preen, lie down, groom, engage in litter bathing, or any other normal social urges. But the worst for a chicken is not being able to go into a private nesting box for lay their eggs. I remember in our chicken house that every chicken had a nesting box and they were left in peace to lay their eggs each morning. Canadian and most US farmers have been slow phasing out these cages unlike Europe but it is in the best interest of everyone from the consumer to the hen to get rid of battery cage eggs. Chickens will produce more eggs, live longer lives and we will get nutritious eggs.