April Fools
This is a joke!I wrote this after I was asked if all chickens lay eggs and I had just seen the documentary film on Wendell Berry; “Look and See”. I got to thinking about our farming community and the agricultural world we live in. Most of us don’t have the luxury of knowing where our food comes from or how it was raised or even if all chickens lay eggs. (A hen is a female chicken and a young female chicken is called a pullet. A rooster is a male chicken and a young male chicken is called a cockerel - and only females lay eggs.Berry reminds us in the movie about our food sources and how they are often based on an economy that is false. He refers to how Big Ag moved in and made the local communities less dependent on each other by bringing in big machinery and how that changed the culture of our community, and ultimately, our health! When we buy eggs from cheap sources like large factory farms that receive big subsidies from the grain industry, (grains that are loaded with chemicals and GMO crops), we are contributing to the false economy. As in all factory-farming industries, the focus of chicken production is efficiency and maximum profit, which leaves out welfare of the animals and shoppers. And this happens with chickens whose eggs are labeled “free-range” and even organic. This industry works against nature. I always seem to fall back on the chicken and the egg. I love raising chickens. I don’t think I do a very good job at it as I open the cage sometimes way after sunrise and close it way after the sun sets. And I consider the life of a hungry mother raccoon or red tail hawk as they ravage my hen flock. But, the hens do keep me connected to the land and remind me that I have a responsibility to them. They have fun personalities that are enjoyable to witness. I come to learn about each with its own little quirks and I can feel their happiness. They provide me with delicious eggs and they truly make me happy and it’s hard to put a price on that.Berry’s last words in the film are:What you do is the only thing that you can do: you take two things that ought to be together and you put them back together.What could I do that would be putting two things back together? This is a good question for me in the food and farming world. Putting two things back together that belong together:Chickens belong on pasture, at least part of the year. They do not belong in cages or hen houses where chickens do not have an outside yard or field. Chickens need grain, but only that which is free from GMOs, pesticides and chemicals, (and kitchen scraps make them very happy!) Chickens need fresh air and bugs and worms and lots of places to scratch and take dust baths and sun baths. And they need crows to protect them from the hawks.…..and I don’t see any reason to cross a chicken with a peacock. That was a joke.In this fast paced industrial age of putting things together that don’t belong together, we often make mistakes that don’t work.Wendell Berry and his family teach us to look and see. Take time to look what has worked for 100s of years and then see what the industry looks like under the controlling concept of more, bigger, more efficient, more time saving, more, more, more, and in the end, we end up with less. Less quality, less beauty, less life. Look at what is around us in nature, see the natural beauty in everyday life on the farm that practices being in tune with and respectful of nature.
An egg is not an egg. I find nothing good about eating eggs from chickens that are raised commercially in a factory farm. Even organic eggs sold at Whole Foods are not truly pasture-raised.Eggs got a bad rap a few years ago under the bad cholesterol label.Eggs are some of the most nutrient-dense foods available. Eggs are packed with the most bio-available source of protein and one egg provides 13 essential nutrients, an excellent source of B vitamins, vitamin A, riboflavin, folate, vitamin D, vitamin E, iron, and zinc, IF they are living outside and eating bugs, worms and soaking up the vitamin D. If they are living in a dark hen house and eating bad grain, the nutrients are significantly less. Studies show that commercially raised eggs are up to 19 times higher in pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids.[1]And chickens raised on crops that are gown with pesticides, chemicals and fungicides, (anything that ends in CIDE in definition is “to kill”), are just plain not healthy for anyone or anything!Wendell Berry says it just perfectly:“I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it to be from an animal that has lived a pleasant, uncrowded life outdoors, on bountiful pasture, with good water nearby and trees for shade.” (What Are People For?)It’s egg season, not only on Martha’s Vineyard, but wherever the days are getting longer. Hens are laying like crazy right now and farmers who raise chickens for eggs need you to buy their eggs. We sell our eggs for $8.00 a dozen and we do not make any money at this price but we have too many eggs and there are plenty of my neighbors that want our eggs. How much would you pay for an egg? You can get A LOT of nutrients in one egg. I think $1.00 per egg, (from the right source), is a pretty good deal! It’s not only about counting the cost. It’s more about preserving the culture of farming, paying a farmer a fair price for an good egg, and eating delicious food that is loaded with more nutrients than anything you can get in the store.
Jokes aside, I hope you haven’t lost your appetite for eggs in reading this. When I was a kid, I hated eggs. Something about looking at the yolk and considering a possible baby chick and my knowing our backyard chickens..., it made me queasy looking at the runny yolk on my plate. Calvin and Hobbs made me laugh out loud when I read this.The days are getting longer and the hens are laying.
[1]One of my favorite Integrative Medicine expert, Chris Kresser, advocates for pastured eggs (and eating eggs in general) because, “studies show that commercially-raised eggs are up to 19 times higher in pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids” (definitely check him out if you haven’t) . There are a variety of studies indicating that pastured eggs are best for our health.