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| The eggs might not show it but each eggs has a different history |
This weeks’ blog shows very well that I am a bilancia: always difficult to make decisions because every decision has it’s pro’s and its con’s. Forgive me for being so personal this time.
The battery cages were already a topic of a post last year. But I think it needs more attention and therefore allowed myself to continue on
the topic.
Despite the new European rules - which were activated
already in January 2012 - there are still are lot of farmers which keep their
egg laying chickens in cages which are way too small. Action is needed to make
sure that these cages are history by tomorrow.
I am sorry to tell but it seems to be again the obvious
countries that are ignoring the rules made in Brussels. As an egg eater in
Italy coming from the Netherlands I can clearly see a difference between the
two countries. Not only in the shelves with the eggs, but also in the biscuits,
the mayonnaise, etc. While in Holland I did see signs saying ‘free range eggs
used’ everywhere and it is easy to find two or three brands of type 1 or 0
eggs* in Italy I have to visit two or more supermarkets here to come to the
same point.
In May 2012 this Dutch tv program already did some research on the situation of the chickens in
Europe. And – although we couldn’t see it always with our own eyes – the fact
that we didn’t see it said enough: there are too many places in which the
chickens still live in spaces which are smaller than allowed by the regulations.
And we consumers apparently don’t really care. We buy them without paying
attention.
I must be honest enough to tell you that I do hardly check
egg containing products in the supermarkets on the origin of the egg. I do not
do this for two reasons. The first one is because I am usually too lazy and/or
too much in a hurry. The second reason is because it is not always easy to know
whether a produce contains eggs and if it contains eggs, how can we find
whether they are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ ones?
I am happy to find the products which put my attention to
the fact that they have used free range eggs.
But then there is another
problem. These products are not made in Italy but come from my home country. And that means that they
have travelled a lot before I could eat them and –while I am happy for the
chicken - I think that is not good is terms of impact on the environment.
I would love to keep my own chicken if I had a garden and
neighbors which would understand my considerations to have some hens chatting
all day. And then I would also love to find the time and the knowledge to make
all the egg containing products myself. But this is not very realistic to
happen any day soon. So this is not a solution. The only thing I can hope for
is that the chickens farmers find a way to implicate the rules soon and the egg
processing industries stops using the ‘illegal’ eggs now. The I keep on working
on the realization of my dreams too.
* The eggs are numbered from 3 to 0 explaining the conditions under which the laying hens lived. See more on my facebook page
