Posts Tagged ‘eggs’

A life worth living = food worth eating

Friday, July 20th, 2012

Cracking open an egg from the hard working hens in my garden is such a privilege – I try to give them the best life possible, and in return they provide me with the best quality eggs I could hope for.

I watch with satisfaction and a building appetite as the rich yolks and translucent albumen sizzle gently. Instinctively, I know them to be nutritious, and the knowledge of their provenance nourishes my soul. Now science has backed up this gut instinct.  Today, Compassion in World Farming publishes a new report that brings together evidence from over 200 studies to show that keeping animals in better welfare conditions also improves the nutritional quality of our food.

Our study shows that eggs from higher welfare farms provide up to 170% more omega-3, the good fats that are so necessary for healthy brains and hearts. Free range and organic eggs also provide up to 100% more vitamin E & 280% more beta-carotene, both of which are important antioxidants, which are thought to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Our study looked at extensive data comparing intensively farmed to higher welfare farming.  It finds that this pattern of higher nutrition from higher welfare food repeats for different meats as well as for milk. Chicken meat too stands out in this research – animals raised in cramped conditions, bred to grow furiously fast and denied healthy green food tend to produce meat which is fattier and lower in omega-3. Pig-meat, beef and milk from higher welfare farming are all nutritionally superior to factory farmed products in terms of fat content and/or higher omega-3 and antioxidants.

So when you take home RSPCA Freedom Foods or organic products, they not only benefit the animals, they also benefit your health too. Now that’s worth knowing.

Easter, eggs and sunshine

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

In the run-up to Easter, we’ve focused on our campaign to win egg-laying hens freedom from the barren battery cage. Thank you so much to all of you who’ve taken part in our actions to ‘Defend the Big Move’. It seems a scandal that, having had 12 years to get ready, some European countries are suggesting that more time is needed before barren battery cages are banned. Our message is clear; it’s time for all EU states to stick to their promise and ban barren battery cages by 1st January 2012.Russell Wood/Compassion in World Farming

Huge thanks to TV presenter, Bill Oddie and author, Victoria Connelly, for their support on Tuesday, when Compassion took over Trafalgar Square to ensure that our message was heard!

This Easter will be a particularly busy and exciting one for me; this Saturday I marry Helen, my wonderful fiancée of 18 months, at our wedding and reception just outside Petersfield, Hampshire. So I’m very much hoping the sun continues to shine, and wish you all a very happy bank holiday weekend!

US Salmonella outbreak in eggs

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

eggsHalf a billion eggs are being recalled in the USA as part of an investigation into an outbreak of Salmonella. Two farms in the State of Iowa are reportedly involved in the recall after tests proved positive for the food poisoning bug. The US Egg Safety Center has issued information on which eggs US consumers should avoid. Although reports are not clear about the exact farming method, battery cage farms dominate US egg production.

Unlike the European Union, US egg producers are not compelled to declare on the packaging how the eggs were produced. US consumers therefore often don’t have information available to make an informed choice and avoid eggs from caged hens. This lack of transparency has clear animal welfare implications. It enables battery eggs to masquerade under labels that may not give an accurate picture of the way factory farmed birds are forced to live. The significance of poor labelling goes further. Hens kept in battery cages are often at greater risk of contamination with Salmonella.

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And the winner is…

Thursday, July 15th, 2010
Waitrose - Most Compassionate Supermarket - Pic CC / Flickr

Most Compassionate Supermarket - CC / Flickr

Big name companies, celebrities and guests packed into London’s St Paul’s Cathedral last night to celebrate the businesses that are making a real difference for farm animals. Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, The Co-operative Food, Pret A Manger and Virgin Trains were amongst the big name companies receiving our first ever ‘Good Chicken’ Awards for pledging to dump factory farmed chicken in favour of higher welfare chicken. In total, the pledges of the ten companies recognised on the night will benefit a projected 174 million chickens!

The Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards is the public face of our flagship programme working with the business community. We talk with companies in the UK and across Europe and inspire them to do great things for farm animal welfare. The awards event is where we showcase those companies leading by example by committing to animal-friendly policies. For the first time, we brought together our coveted Supermarket Awards with our ‘Good Egg’ Awards, and publicly unveiled our work with companies on higher welfare chicken meat too.

Waitrose won our Most Compassionate Supermarket Award, whilst Morrison’s picked up our ‘Most Improved Supermarket’ Award, and Sainsbury’s were awarded best of the ‘big four’, as gauged by our recent retail survey on animal welfare.

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Cage-free companies to be announced

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Last week, we were in Bournemouth with our special event for local authorities who have recently become ‘cage-free councils’. Tonight in London, we will be revealing the business leaders we have been working with on new policy commitments to benefit farm animal welfare. The Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards is the public face of our flagship programme with the corporate community. It is designed to engage, inspire and celebrate companies that are doing the right thing for farm animal welfare, food quality and their customers.

Our host for the evening will be Bill Oddie, Britain’s best-loved wildlife presenter and a true boyhood hero of mine. And we have a great cast of big name companies that will be recognised for going cage-free on their eggs, bringing better lives to the chickens reared for meat, or for progressive policies across the board.

So, tonight will be an exciting night of celebration for farm animals. We will see companies leading by example, and will be highlighting how higher animal welfare also enhances food quality. I very much look forward to sharing with you the big names that are helping to put farm animal welfare at the heart of the food industry.

Battery eggs terminated in California

Monday, July 12th, 2010

I recently wrote about important reforms for farm animals in the US state of Ohio. Further great news from across the Atlantic was carried in a New York Times editorial over the weekend. California’s state governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed landmark legislation that will effectively outlaw the sale of eggs produced using battery cages.

The new law will require all whole eggs to come from hens that are able to stand up, fully extend their limbs, lie down and spread their wings without touching each other or the sides of their enclosure. It will come into force in 2015 to coincide with the implementation of the ban on battery cages introduced following a landslide ballot of Californian citizens in 2008.

Wayne Pacelle of The Humane Society of the United States congratulated Governor Schwarzenegger’s action, saying, “Californians have made it clear that they don’t want unsafe eggs from hens crammed into cages, and we applaud the Legislature and governor for heeding this call.”

The New York Times editorial welcomed the news, saying “there is no justification, economic or otherwise, for the abusive practice of confining animals in spaces barely larger than the volume of their bodies. Animals with more space are healthier, and they are no less productive.” The piece signs off with a sentiment that resonates strongly with all of us here at Compassion; “Industrial confinement is cruel and senseless and will turn out to be, we hope, a relatively short-lived anomaly in modern farming.”

With your help, we really can ensure that factory farming is indeed a “short-lived anomaly”. Please continue to spread the word about the campaign, and help end the suffering of literally tens of billions of farm animals every year.

Celebrating cage-free councils!

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
Free Range Hens - CC / Flickr

Free Range Hens - CC / Flickr

One in five local authorities in the UK have now gone cage-free, pledging to buy only non-cage eggs in their procurement policies. And last night at our Good Egg Awards event in Bournemouth, we celebrated over 30 local authorities who have taken the cage-free pledge in the last year! And they thoroughly deserve our recognition and applause for their commitment to animal welfare and leadership in ethical procurement. A grand total of over 80 local authorities are now officially recognised as ‘good eggs’ and are part of the movement to better welfare, better quality food that is sweeping the corporate and public procurement worlds.

Our event was timed to coincide with the Local Government Association’s annual conference and provided the delegates from award-winning councils the opportunity to celebrate together. The awards were presented by our special guest, Pam Ayres, whose hilariously funny, yet poignant comic verse had the audience laughing and crying in equal measure. Her poem on the life of the battery hen underscored the real difference that the assembled councils were making to the lives of literally thousands of hens, thanks to their switch to using only cage-free eggs.

After the proceedings, I was approached by the owners of one of the farms supplying an award-winning council. “We need your help” he said, and explained that Compassion’s energy was needed as much as ever to ensure that the ban on barren battery cages across Europe does go ahead as planned in 2012. He told of how rumours were still circulating in the farming community that the ban might be delayed, diluted, or simply disobeyed by other countries. I reassured him that Compassion will remain ever vigilant and will not rest on this issue until the ban is enforced in full and on time. I was pleased to reassure him that only recently, the European Commissioner in charge of this area had restated that there will be no delay on the cage ban. Nevertheless, it underscored our need to remain alert to the dangers. And it highlights just why the actions of the award-winning councils are so important, both to the hens that benefit directly, and to ensuring that politicians and higher welfare farmers feel supported in their quest to bring a better deal to our laying hens.

The roll-call of councils who received their awards on the night included: Peterborough City Council, Cambridge City Council, East Sussex County Council, Wychavon District Council, Bacons College, South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, Ceredigion County Council, Bristol City Council, Somerset County Council, Gloucester County Council, Herefordshire County Council, Winchester City Council, Suffolk County Council, Ryedale District Council, Telford and Wrekin Council, Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council, West Sussex County Council, Birmingham City Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Kent County Council, London Borough of Hounslow, Oxfordshire County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Sedgemoor District Council and Bolton City Council. Congratulations to all of them. And a big thank you to everyone who has taken part in our Cage-free Councils Campaign. Together, we’re making a real difference to our food and farm animals.

Consumer Aware

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

These are challenging economic times for everyone. For consumers like us who care about animal welfare, we also want to make sure we support producers and retailers who use higher standards of care. The good news is that increasing numbers of us are buying more meat and dairy products accredited by such programmes as the RSPCA’s Freedom Food scheme and the Soil Association’s organic certification.

Notwithstanding the recession, our public educational campaigns are making a difference. Such high profile campaigns as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Chicken Out! are helping people make compassionate choices. Sales of free range, barn and organic eggs increased to two-thirds of the total spent on eggs in the twelve months up to March. In terms of the number of individual eggs sold, one in two is now from hens which do not live in cages. Further, sales of higher welfare fresh chicken meat have grown by one-fifth in the last year compared with virtually no increase in sales of standard chicken. The sales of organic foods, which were initially depressed by the recession, are now growing. This is recession busting news! When consumers become aware they beware of factory farming.

The more people that are educated about factory farming, the more they will want to choose cruelty-free and buy products clearly labelled as humanely produced. This means the demand for factory farmed meat and dairy products decreases and the sale of humane alternatives increases.

Labelling of livestock products is about transparency in the food chain. People want to know how their food is produced and where it comes from. Presently, the only mandatory EU labelling scheme requires egg packs and eggs to be labelled as to farming method (e.g. “eggs from caged hens”, “barn eggs” or “free range eggs”).

Earlier this week, I attended the launch of new research which showed that animal welfare continues to be an important issue for many people. It also showed that people associate better treatment of animals with higher quality products. There is an association between the system of production (e.g. intensively produced as opposed to free range) and the level of welfare the animals are likely to have received. The problem is that most meat from factory farms isn’t labelled as to how it was produced, thus hampering consumers in choosing products of higher quality and better welfare. It surely acts as a significant drag on the sales growth of higher welfare products.

Compassion is calling for labelling schemes that are mandatory and apply to all meat, eggs and dairy products, including domestically produced and imported foods. The information must include the method of production and country of origin. These should be prominently displayed on the product. We advocate using words as well as symbols or logos as they may be misunderstood. In short, we are committed to transparency in the food chain from farm to kitchen.

This is why our Strategic Plan 2009-2014 commits us to “achieve compulsory labelling of livestock products according to system of production in the EU by 2014.”

It is great news indeed that sales of higher welfare chicken and eggs are growing, despite the recession, and thus helping many animals to have better lives. None of this progress would be possible without you and thousands of caring people like you who support Compassion. Thank you! Together we can educate even more consumers to be aware. Why not help us to keep up the momentum for compassionate consumerism by downloading your free Good Food Shopping Guide!

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Caged laying hensNocton bus advertisementFace of sow in barren pen with piglets behindLabel Rouge broiler chickens of both sexSow and piglets foraging and one piglet sucklingCute lambs running and jumpingMontbeliard cows on pasturePhilip at FAIBarren veal calf pens

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