[rant]Cage free eggs[rant]

N747JB said:
People will pay more for similar products, when we had a farm there is no way we would eat grass fed beef! We brought them into the barn for 3-4 weeks and fed them corn and hay to get rid of the grass taste!!
My daughter is one that will spend more for vegetarian raised chicken or whatever organic thing she sees, it doesn't bother me now that she's married and buying her own groceries!
As for eggs, I am pretty sure that Eggman knows as much as anyone about them. I wouldn't challenge him on eggs or Nick Saban on coaching college football! :D
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I've never understood the grass fed fanboys.
Arguably the finest beef in the world (real Kobe, not the fake American stuff. A5 grade, marbling score 11) and definitely not "grass fed":

20150930_211357 by , on Flickr
 
Mason said:
Foxes love chicken dinner.

Chickens left to their own devices will peck each other to death.
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Usually not to death unless they are confined or overcrowded. My neighbor used to have a big flock of mixed birds and the refugees would flee over to our place. I only ever saw one die, but that was from the cold after they plucked all its feathers out. I guess there's no easy life for a chicken. Foxes are definitely a problem for the truly free range birds.
 
mtuomi said:
I've never understood the grass fed fanboys.
Arguably the finest beef in the world (real Kobe, not the fake American stuff. A5 grade, marbling score 11) and definitely not "grass fed":

20150930_211357 by , on Flickr
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I've not had as good of an experience with it, but it has to be cooked different. I don't see anything wrong with adding some fat in the last month or so. I can see why people would prefer beef that didn't get run through a feedlot though.
 
I don't know about anywhere else but in my area the price of eggs has really dropped in the last couple weeks.
 
Mason said:
Foxes love chicken dinner.

Chickens left to their own devices will peck each other to death.
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Chickens as we know them in the food industry are a manufactured product, there is nothing about them that would even resemble a chicken a couple hundred years ago. I get a kick out of all this free range, grass fed, non gmo stuff. The same principal applies to people protesting oil while typing on their iPhone!
And yes, chickens are a brutal species, the males will peck and smash any bird in their way. The females will smash each other every chance they get. Makes for a good time when they get together.
 
My understanding that the cage free chicken deal and the organic farming deal was to placate animal lovers so they would feel better about what they eat. Chickens would be happier, organic food would not hurt the enviornment, thus making it better for the animals. To accommodate this costs more these days, thus the need to charge more. people are willing to pay for the warm and fuzzy feeling. To each their own.
 
Vern B said:
My understanding that the cage free chicken deal and the organic farming deal was to placate animal lovers so they would feel better about what they eat. Chickens would be happier, organic food would not hurt the enviornment, thus making it better for the animals. To accommodate this costs more these days, thus the need to charge more. people are willing to pay for the warm and fuzzy feeling. To each their own.
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The Organic farming movement wasn't created to placate animal lovers. In large part it came about because people were disgusted with what we allow to be put on our food. That is a legitimate concern, but like many other things, it got hijacked by the enviro-wacko left to the point where now you can buy organic furniture and organic t-shirts. There are a host of chronic medical problems that have sky-rocketed over the last several decades. Whether that is a result of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones hasn't been conclusively determined, but limiting those things that contaminate our foods can't be a terrible idea. Allowing animals to exist in an environment that more closely resembles their natural habitat may drive costs up, but it also precludes the need for much of what is administered to them in todays mass production facilities. A better alternative to simply purchasing a product stamped organic, is to either raise it yourself or to cooperate with someone who can. Or, just don't worry about it and buy what's cheapest.
 
Cooter said:
The Organic farming movement wasn't created to placate animal lovers. In large part it came about because people were disgusted with what we allow to be put on our food. That is a legitimate concern, but like many other things, it got hijacked by the enviro-wacko left to the point where now you can buy organic furniture and organic t-shirts. There are a host of chronic medical problems that have sky-rocketed over the last several decades. Whether that is a result of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones hasn't been conclusively determined, but limiting those things that contaminate our foods can't be a terrible idea. Allowing animals to exist in an environment that more closely resembles their natural habitat may drive costs up, but it also precludes the need for much of what is administered to them in todays mass production facilities. A better alternative to simply purchasing a product stamped organic, is to either raise it yourself or to cooperate with someone who can. Or, just don't worry about it and buy what's cheapest.[/QUOTE
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As I said, to each his own. Government should not be mandating how everything on the market is grown.
 
Vern B said:
By the way, this is what I was referring to.
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I apologize, I didn't connect your comment to the government intervention link above. I am far from an animal rights advocate, but I do appreciate efforts to improve the quality of life for the animals confined in artificial conditions. I don't appreciate it when real compassion and care gets sidelined by political agendas.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Cage free may not be all that great for chickens' happiness. I was leaving my property last week and saw a fox run into my neighbor's yard. Neighbor was right there on the road, but walkng the other way and missed, it so I told her. She ran back, saying how the fox was surely going to murder them all (in the cage-free environment she provided).
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Heh. That's the one photo the Mrs says she wishes she could have taken this year. She heads down the dirt road going to work one morning and has brake and slow for a fox, trotting across the road, with a very fat and very dead chicken dangling from its mouth.

The neighbors tell me the annoying part about foxes is they supposedly don't just snag one chicken, but often go into the coop and kill all or a
majority, and then take off with whichever one catches their fancy after the massacre.

True? Anyone know? Two different neighbors have stated this. They hate the foxes.

MassPilot said:
My state just passed a ballot initiative requiring all eggs produced and sold in this state be cage free by 2022.

https://ballotpedia.org/Massachuset...or_Farm_Animal_Containment,_Question_3_(2016)
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MassPilot said:
Fortunately I don't plan on living here by 2022.
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Smart. It's important to move away from those actively getting stupider by choice.

Zeldman said:
Organic toilette paper is my favorite....o_O
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The extra splinter variety uses less energy to process the paper. It's "artisan"! ;)
 
denverpilot said:
The neighbors tell me the annoying part about foxes is they supposedly don't just snag one chicken, but often go into the coop and kill all or a
majority, and then take off with whichever one catches their fancy after the massacre.
True? Anyone know? Two different neighbors have stated this. They hate the foxes.
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They do. Once in the midst of a killing rampage, they can't seem to stop that natural instinct until all are dead. The drive to "capture and kill", at that moment, overwhelms their urge to do anything else. Once no one is moving, then the "run off with prize" motivation kicks in, followed by "find safe place to gorge".
 
MassPilot said:
My state just passed a ballot initiative requiring all eggs produced and sold in this state be cage free by 2022.

https://ballotpedia.org/Massachuset...or_Farm_Animal_Containment,_Question_3_(2016)
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The problem with this initiative is that the standard they chose of 216 sq. inches/hen is 50% larger than what is industry standard for the rest of cage free production with white egg layers. It really is going to be a "specialty" specialty egg. The problem is that with the seasonal demand for eggs there are, most likely, going to be huge price changes throughout the year and depending upon demand - empty shelves. Either way it is going to be expensive for Mass consumers compared to what they have now and tragically a real added cost to people who don't have much money. I think it is sad that consumers in that state had the choice before the election to vote with their wallets as cage free was almost certainly available in every store, but the voters forced that choice on everyone.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Unless you plan on wiping your azz with pumice, it's going to be difficult to find inorganic toilet paper.
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I was making fun of the fact that some TP is actually marketed as organic just as a sales tactic.....and in my part of the country it cost more than non-marked TP. I just guess that no one has thought to advertise glutten free TP yet....:confused:

Years ago when bottled water was becoming fashionable, I saw bottled water labeled as fat free and sugar free...and it cost a little more that the bottles right next to it....:rolleyes:
 
James_Dean said:
The problem with this initiative is that the standard they chose of 216 sq. inches/hen is 50% larger than what is industry standard for the rest of cage free production with white egg layers. It really is going to be a "specialty" specialty egg. The problem is that with the seasonal demand for eggs there are, most likely, going to be huge price changes throughout the year and depending upon demand - empty shelves. Either way it is going to be expensive for Mass consumers compared to what they have now and tragically a real added cost to people who don't have much money. I think it is sad that consumers in that state had the choice before the election to vote with their wallets as cage free was almost certainly available in every store, but the voters forced that choice on everyone.
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That's the whole problem with these voter initiatives. I doubt the voters had any understanding of the ramifications. I bet half of them didn't even know this was a question until they showed up to vote and saw it on the ballot. The local media was too busy covering the ballot question to legalize recreational marijuana and almost never mentioned this one.
 
James_Dean said:
I think it is sad that consumers in that state had the choice before the election to vote with their wallets as cage free was almost certainly available in every store, but the voters forced that choice on everyone.
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They still have a choice, but now it will require that they moved to a different state to escape the consequences of their short-sighted voting. Unfortunately, many of them will take their bad ideas with them and will spread them wherever they go.
 
The simple solution would be for egg producers and wholesalers to refuse to sell eggs in Massachusetts beginning on the date the law takes effect. Total lack of availability just might change their view.
 
Norman said:
The simple solution would be for egg producers and wholesalers to refuse to sell eggs in Massachusetts beginning on the date the law takes effect. Total lack of availability just might change their view.
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Tagline: "Throw off the yolks of oppression!"

Ok, maybe not.

o_O
 
Zeldman said:
I was making fun of the fact that some TP is actually marketed as organic just as a sales tactic.....and in my part of the country it cost more than non-marked TP. I just guess that no one has thought to advertise glutten free TP yet....:confused:

:
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My artisanal comment was based upon this...


:)
 
Norman said:
The simple solution would be for egg producers and wholesalers to refuse to sell eggs in Massachusetts beginning on the date the law takes effect. Total lack of availability just might change their view.
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I bet there will be a few that stop doing business there and a few that see it as a niche market for double priced eggs!
 
Norman said:
I can picture the state police stopping cars to see if they're smuggling eggs. :D
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They will probably do it the way California does. We have to buy an egg handlers license from the state. They do an annual audit that includes measuring the house, checking bird numbers, validating your sales records back to your certified production, and checking/validating production records.

A ton of compliance costs for John Q. Taxpayer.
 
Nothing to do with food, but there was a ballot measure here in PA regarding the retirement age for judges. The text on the ballot read:

"Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to require that justices of the Supreme Court, judges, and magisterial district judges be retired on the last day of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 75 years?"

It passed. If you didn't know about this ahead of time, you might assume that you were voting to impose a mandatory retirement age on judges where one did not exist before. What you were really doing was voting on whether to raise the existing mandatory retirement age from 70 to 75. Interesting that the question was not worded in that way.


JKG
 
JGoodish said:
Nothing to do with food, but there was a ballot measure here in PA regarding the retirement age for judges. The text on the ballot read:

"Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to require that justices of the Supreme Court, judges, and magisterial district judges be retired on the last day of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 75 years?"

It passed. If you didn't know about this ahead of time, you might assume that you were voting to impose a mandatory retirement age on judges where one did not exist before. What you were really doing was voting on whether to raise the existing mandatory retirement age from 70 to 75. Interesting that the question was not worded in that way.


JKG
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Most amendments on ballots are not what they appear to be! About 15 years ago in Georgia we had an amendment called something like "Farmers relief" the jist of it was that car dealers no longer had to pay ad valorem tax on cars in inventory on December 31, $100-300 per car. The wording on the ballot didn't mention anything about car dealers! I voted for it! :D
 
I went to the grocery store yesterday morning to buy some eggs so I compared the store brand pricing to the Cage free, hormone free, etc eggs. $4.40 difference for a dozen eggs!! I bought the store brand, pilots are a cheap bunch!! :D

 
N747JB said:
I went to the grocery store yesterday morning to buy some eggs so I compared the store brand pricing to the Cage free, hormone free, etc eggs. $4.40 difference for a dozen eggs!! I bought the store brand, pilots are a cheap bunch!! :D
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I know this wasn't your point, but having read this thread from the beginning, I find it amazing that one can buy a dozen eggs for $1.59.
 
172andyou said:
I know this wasn't your point, but having read this thread from the beginning, I find it amazing that one can buy a dozen eggs for $1.59.
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I know, it seems cheap considering all that goes into raising chickens, gathering the eggs, processing, packaging, shipping and the store has to have mark up as well!
 
After all the middlemen get their share it's a wonder James can make a living. His ROI per egg has to be very small.
 
Norman said:
After all the middlemen get their share it's a wonder James can make a living. His ROI per egg has to be very small.
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I think he makes it up with volume. :biggrin:

Somewhere in the thread he said how many hens he has. It's a big number.
 
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