The Truth About Eggs – What Commercial Egg Farmers Don’t Want You to Know!

Really? We can't do better than this?

A massive scale egg producer in Pennsylvania has made the news for its inhumane treatment of chickens and unsanitary conditions. 

Kreider Farms, which houses seven million hens, appears to be the next sickening example of what allegedly happens behind the scenes at CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations).

The Humane Society recently released an undercover video that exposes the horrific conditions endured by the birds in this operation. (Think Auschwitz on steroids, only for birds, not Jews).

Kreider Farm's owner, Dave Andrews, claims the allegations are false and that three state agencies have given the farm a clean bill of health. He did admit, however, that one of the farm's buildings tested positive for salmonella but has since been cleaned up. (Yeah, that makes me feel better).

Another study found that while more than 23% of farms with caged hens tested positive for salmonella, this dropped to just over 4% for organic, i.e. free-range pastured flocks. The highest prevalence of salmonella occurred in the largest flocks (30,000 birds or more), which contained over four times the average level of salmonella found in smaller flocks. Am I getting through to everyone?

Compared to official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs, eggs from hens raised on pasture and allowed to freely forage outdoors may contain:

• Two-thirds more vitamin A
• Twice as many omega-3 fats
• Three times as much vitamin E
• Seven times more beta carotene
  

Hmm. Well, here's my point. The question is, what kind of food system do YOU want everyone? Do you really want to put this sort of commercially grown crap in your mouth? If every American decided to not buy commercially produced eggs, things would finally change in a heartbeat. All that's required is for each and every person to change his or her shopping habits whenever it's feasible.

Enough said. I buy farm fresh eggs whenever I can find them. For me, that means visiting John's Frosted Mug in Forsyth Mo., where I live.

On eggs and fajitas!

Farm fresh eggs!

Experts will tell you that there is absolutely no difference between white and brown eggs other than the color of their shells. They are simply produced by two differently colored hens! However, they will also tell you that there are differences in the nutritional value depending on what the chickens were fed. I firmly believe that open range chickens from small home sized farms tend to not get fed any antibiotics, tend to be less stressed and most importantly - a dozen of their eggs can often be had for a lot less money! [I paid only $2.50 for eggs pictured above]!

Stir fry fajita?

I'm not really sure if this breakfast dish qualified as a fajita or not. I do know that it tasted pretty darn good for morning fare. I made this dish by cooking beef chunks, bell pepper and onions in a frying pan over medium high heat using just a bit of oil. I seasoned this creation with just a dash of Tabasco and taco sauce. Not too shabby!