Salmonella and the Egg Lady

The recent outbreak of salmonella in the egg industry has caused me to reflect on cage-free vs. caged chicken eggs. For years I never gave it a thought and almost always bought “regular” eggs at the supermarket. After all, they are about half the price of cage-free eggs and they are after all just eggs right? Well after I met my wife Margit, she convinced me there was indeed a difference and that the battery caged hens were grossly mistreated and we should support the farmers that were more humane and sold "happy eggs". At first I went along because we were dating and I wanted to make brownie points, but after awhile I read up on caged hens on was appalled on how the hens were treated and the filth that surrounded the egg industry. While it is not my attempt to convince my readers to switch over to cage-free, I do suggest that you read some articles about the egg industry such as Humane Society Facts

As far as the Salmonella outbreak, it was traced back to two huge chicken farms that share the same facility. The Salmonella had origins in piles of feces and cross contamination from rodents causing the chickens to become infected, which in turn was passed to the eggs during formation. The contamination entered the eggs and went out to the end consumer.

Would cage-free eggs have prevented this outbreak?
Yes and no. The definition of cage-free is vague and does not necessarily imply free range eggs. In fact there is currently no legal definition of Cage Free or Free Range Eggs. The fact is that both types are much better then the battery caged egg system where a hen has about 57 square inches of living space, less then the size then a standard piece of paper. This lack of definition still allows vast quantities of hens to be housed together under the same conditions exist that may cause an outbreak.

Free-range however, means inherently smaller farms as well as less chance of mass contamination. I suggest that you go for free-range eggs, organic if you can. That is of course if you do not have a local Egg Lady

The Egg Lady

I first me the Egg Lady last year while I was attending the Maynard Farmer’s Market, She was selling farm fresh eggs for $3.00 a dozen and I thought it would be a great opportunity to enjoy local food at a reasonable price. Well, I was quite disappointed to find out that she was out of eggs. She did say that I could stop by her house later that afternoon since her “girls” would have some ready later that day.

She gave me her card and was glad to see that she lived less then a mile from me. (for those who are not familiar with Maynard MOST things are less then a mile from me). I did buy a dozen eggs later that afternoon and cooked eggs the next morning for breakfast and yes, there was a significant difference in color, taste and overall enjoyment of simple eggs over easy.

We have been back many time since, I have even had to wait sometimes for the Egg Lady or her husband (the Egg Man?) to go out to the roost and gather some eggs. It is a little disconcerting to have eggs that are still warm handed over to you, but that is indeed Mother Nature at her most natural state.

I do admit that there are still times when I do buy caged white eggs; for instance: Easter Egg coloring, processed egg beaters or pasteurized liquid eggs for large volume cooking. However, for normal day to day family eating, I will continue to go to the Egg Lady and when she finally retires I will try to find her predecessor and if I move to the city? Well free range organic eggs it will be.

Hope you enjoy the fall season that is around the corner. I am looking forward to the variety of interesting fruits and vegetables that will be available for cooking and eating.