Shock! Horror! I’ve just found out that the eggs I have been
buying as “free range” aren’t nearly as chook friendly or as wholesome as I
thought, even though I have been paying more for them.
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| Not all "free range" eggs are equal |
Thanks to the efforts of consumer advocacy group Choice, the
Greens and others, Australia passed legislation last year which has just come
into effect in time for Easter. It requires that the stocking density of chickens must be shown on
egg cartons. This was necessary as it was found that many egg producers were trading on the public interest in healthier and more
humanely produced food and the fact that consumers had shown themselves willing
to pay a little more for eggs labelled “free range” though these were often produced
under less than ideal conditions.
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| It turns out that even the eggs in the box with the pretty picture were not produced according to the recommended standard |
While
“free range” conjures up images of chooks pecking and scratching in green grass
with fresh air and sunshine and a choice of desirable bugs, this is not necessarily
the case with those with high stocking densities. The new laws unfortunately still permit
poultry farms with stocking densities up to 10, 000 birds per hectare to use the "free range" label, far
higher than the 2,500 birds allowed by the EU, or the 1,500 birds per hectare
recommended by the CSIRO and the RSPCA, though I suppose we should be grateful
that at least those chooks now have some access to the outside and are not spending
their entire short, miserable lives in cages in which they can’t even turn around.
If this is of concern to you and you wish to do or learn more about it, go to the Choice website where egg producers are rated and listed by state. If you have a smartphone you can also download their CluckAR
App to point at egg cartons in the shops to see how each brand rates.
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| The fantasy -what we imagine when we hear the words "Free Range"* |
So much for the eggs we can buy and choose ourselves. What
about those eggs which are used in restaurants and the cooked and baked
goods we buy? Well, some restaurants and cafés are already on it. Even the
hole -in -the -wall Sushi place I sometimes go to in town has a little sign out
over the egg -roll ones. Expect others to follow suit. When more and more places look the same and offer what appears to be the same product, it could become a selling point and at least one point of difference.
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| Small sign seen at a local Sushi establishment is a sign of things to come - but how free range remains to be seen |
*Thanks to Freeranger farms for letting me use their lovely chook photos. Their site also has much more information on this topic
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