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Happy hens, better eggs

By Adriana Ortemberg Your email (*) print


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Despite initial appearances, not all eggs are the same. The difference lies not in the size nor the color of the shell but in how the producers of the eggs live, in other words, the hens.
Organic production pays careful attention not only to the environment in which hens live in but also to how they are fed. While in intensive factory production birds live in cages with little or no access to the outdoors and are fed with industrial feed, organic production sees no more than 6 hens per square meter. What’s more they get to peck around under the sun for ecological feed or grain, generally grown on the same farm. If the hens suffer health problems, antibiotics or other chemical drugs are used only in extreme cases.

The result of all this special attention can be found in the end product: organic eggs may be more expensive, but they have better flavor and a different yolk (thanks to the feed).The egg is less runny and has a higher nutrient content, especially vitamins and minerals.

There is a a happy medium too, which is free-range eggs. Here the hens are fed with traditional feed, and while they may live in cages, they do have outdoor access.

How to know what kind of eggs you consume?


There may be some information on the boxes  but the best place to look is at the source code, printed on the shell. The code starts with a number:  0, 1, 2 or 3, which indicates the following:
0 - organic eggs, from hens raised outdoors and fed on organic feed.
1 - eggs from hens kept in coops but with access to the outdoors and fed with conventional feed.
2 - eggs from hens kept in large indoor cages where they can move about.
3 - eggs from stabled, caged hens.

Most of the eggs available in supermarkets are from category 3, but you’ll increasingly see eggs with code 1 or 0.

Note: For more information, see the production rules as stipulated in Regulation 2092/91del Organic Agriculture Regulatory Board (CRAE) (http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/organic/home_es)

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