By Sacha McNeil
Here in New Zealand we like to think there are plenty of good eggs amongst us, and tomorrow the ones who strive to bring cage-free hen laid eggs to the consumer are to be celebrated.
The little white oval ones will be honoured at the Good Egg Awards, where farmers and food businesses are up for awards for the effort they go to bring consumers eggs laid in happy places.
So what makes a good egg? They’re always oval with a yolk and a shell, but not always equal.
An egg is no longer just an egg and its journey to your breakfast table has become an intensely observed one.
There's no denying the humble egg's popularity. It takes nearly six billion hens to produce enough eggs to meet worldwide demand.
However, over 60 percent of those eggs are laid in battery cages.
But some live the good life on a cage-free farm, and on one such farm 4000 chooks produce 1200 dozen eggs every week.
“It's a far more ethical way of farming I think the consumer is looking for, they’re taking more of an interest in the way that their food is produced,” says Sunset Freerange Poultry Farm director Craig Wilcox.
The Sunset Freerange Poultry Farm in Pokeno ensures that their lovely layers live a very free range lifestyle and have access to fresh grass 24/7. They're one of 38 companies who are up for a good egg award for producing or using only cage-free eggs or egg products.
The inaugural awards proved a difficult task for judges.
“Some people have been doing this for 26 years, they have been choosing to have free range eggs for 26 years to the extent that some of them have produced their own, some of the cafes, some of the stories were lovely,” says the SPCA’s Robyn Kippenberger.
One of those entrants was the Library Cafe in Onehunga, which dishes up around 1000 locally laid eco-eggs a week.
“If there is a better way to do it then we choose to do that and make that fit in a commercial environment and the amount of eggs that we go through, it’s the perfect fit for us to really make a difference,” says Debbie Leaver.
Customers they say have become more cage-free conscious.
“When you go into your supermarket if you choose cage free then you're actually freeing birds, there is no doubt,” says Ms Kippenberger.
So however you like your eggs, It might be worth considering where they started out.
The Good Egg Awards will be handed out tomorrow night by Chef Peter Gordon.
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