Eggs Benedict with hollandase sauce for breakfast? On average New Zealanders consume 200 eggs a year each. Have you ever considered the animals' welfare in the production of your eggs?The current NZ government law is mainly "a vouluntary welfare code" this means that hens are lawfully kept in A4 size cage, for their whole life with no room to perform instinctive habits, including scratching, grazing, and pecking. This results in foot and claw problems, brittle bones, broken wings, they also have no access to sun fresh air or room to move. Boredom and frustration sets in and causes the poor birds to attack and eat each other.
Birds are only feed cheap grains, which is very unnatural and the end result is a less nutricious egg. The eggs have less vitamin a, d & e, less b group vitamins, phosphorus, iron and zinc - if any at all.
2.4 million hens are used a year in battery farming and they are debeaked at birth and killed at 18 months. The carcasses are then sent to various companies which then process them to make soups, baby food and chicken stock. Barn laid eggs are not much better as measurements include 25 hens per square metre, with no access to the outside, cramped unnatural conditions resulting in cannabalism and disease out break here also.
If you choose free range rnzspca approved eggs, this ensures that the eggs you are buying are layed by happy hens that have acess to green pastures, (where good nutrients are derived from) shelter, sun and fresh air. Although the male chicks are still executed on hatching and hens killed at 18 months (normal life span 10 - 15 years)
The free range farming method results in a much better quality of life of for these dear wee things, choosing free range rnzspca approved eggs = happy hens = a quality egg = a conscious, educated purchase slynkey girls!
By Sue Battersby - slynkey's Resident Hippie
