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Where Do You Get Your Eggs?
Given the recent recall of more than 550 million eggs affecting at least 17 states, we thought you might be interested to learn more about the eggs available through Farm Shop.
We source our eggs from two farms each week: Klingler Farm and FreeHeart Farm. Both farms are located in our wonderful Capay Valley region. Today, we’ll focus on the chickens at Klingler Farm.
Klingler Farm
Lou and Kitty Klingler farm on 85 acres of mostly irrigated land, where they raise free-range hens. . The layers have egg boxes and night roosts. Klingler Farm has 180 Red Star hens and 1 old and 1 young rooster.
In addition to pasture Klingler chickens eat alfalfa hay, oats grown on the land, Layena Crumble Feed (which has no animal byproducts and no antibiotics and helps to harden the shells so that they’re not too fragile) and whatever else they root for food. Chickens will dig in the soil for whatever they can find — these chickens are truly pasture-fed. Klingler harvests about 75 dozen eggs per week, mostly large, sometimes too big for the cartons. Kitty Klingler says, “Our hens are happy chickens, they run free and eat and drink well, knowing at night they can roost where they will be safe. We never envisioned the delight of the product we produce.”
In addition to these chickens being treated well and healthily fed, the eggs taste fantastic! We’ve had pastry and pasta chefs beg their buyers to pay the extra couple of bucks because of the amazing desserts they produce. Our customers say there’s no turning back – the yolks are bright orange and the whites are super fluffy and tasty. Try a side-by-side comparison with other eggs, and you will see the difference for yourself. For those of you who have yet to try them, you’re in for a treat and for those of you who buy them regularly, we’re glad we got you hooked!
Food Safety
One of the best ways to address food safety is to know where your food comes. This is the beauty of programs like ours where transparency and traceability are inherent in the business model – connecting consumers to each of our farms through farm news, farm events and farm blogs. While the cost of producing free-range eggs may be higher, research has found that eggs sourced from farms where the chickens have been humanely treated have less incidence of salmonella and other diseases, and these eggs are often better nutritionally as well. When an event like the recent recall happens, it becomes clear that paying more for food that you can trace back to where it comes from – and better yet, knowing the farmer! – is a wise investment in your health.
Food & Water Watch says, “This egg recall is not a fluke. It’s just the latest example of how the consolidation of food production puts us at risk.” The consolidation of egg production has created huge chicken factories with no room for chickens to move around (in contrast to living in 67-square inch cages 24/7, the fate of the majority of other American chickens – see CNN video below) and resulted in a limited number of companies that provide the majority of our eggs (does this remind you of the peanut recall last year?). According to Michael Pollan, it’s easier for chickens to spread disease due to cramped quarters. On a personal note, upon learning of these conditions many decades ago I decided to eat vegetarian and then vegan for several years. I’ve since started eating meat and dairy again as long as I know where it comes from and how the animals are raised and treated.
In a separate article, Food & Water Watch says, “Encouraging a system of smaller regionally-based farms will, at a minimum, decrease the number of people affected by an outbreak.” At Farm Shop, we’re passionate about growing our regional network of small, family, sustainable farms. These farms produce quality food on a smaller scale – which translates to less slipping through the cracks – and have a smaller environmental footprint. By supporting what we do, you are strengthening your local farms and creating a more sustainable food system – we thank you for joining us!
If you’re interested in learning more about the egg recall and food safety, here are several articles and interviews:
Egg Safety: In Too Many Baskets, Corby Kummer
Egg recall drives worried customers to farmers markets, JoNel Aleccia
CNN: Egg Scare – includes interview with Michael Pollan (story starts 21 minutes into video)
Food & Water Watch: A Bad Egg for Every American?
WSJ: A Dozen Eggs for $8? Michael Pollan Explains the Math of Buying Local, Ben Worthen
By Natasha Tuck
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