How do you like your eggs?



The only mystery about the origins of these eggs is which bird they came from.

The issue of food labelling has somewhat come to the fore of late. How can you know what's really in your burger?
Well, if the rules had been followed you would know. For we live in a civilised country which follows the rules, where food is traceable and carefully regulated.

Um..... What???....Well....Ummm...


There are many, many rules about food labelling. But it seems to me that most of them are there to help the food industry. By that I mean the world of big business, mass production, factory food. And their intense lobbying power has ensured that we are still a long way from really knowing what is in our food, whether it is good for us and, most importantly, where it came from and how it was grown or reared. Then there's the issue of what's been added to it, either while it was growing or even after it stopped growing.

For instance, just look at this egg box. "Quality." "Freshness".  Do those words mean anything?

Bird Brothers - nice name. Must be a small family business heh? And how cute and funny that eggs come from the Bird Brothers!
They are most definitely British too - but does that mean they were laid in Britain, processed in Britain, packed in Britain? It's not easy to know these days. And if they are properly British, does that mean that they are better? At least they've not come on a plane, but are our standards of animal welfare better than elsewhere? Is our food really so well regulated?

Hang on!

It's all OK. They're all "Assured".
And they come from "Enriched Colony Housing". Sounds good.

And they're all medium, so you won't get diddled with small ones hidden in the box and you'll know how many to use to make your cake.

And what's that small writing under the barcode say?

You know what.
I think I'll stick to my own unassured eggs, even if they are different sizes and colours. Even if they are sometimes a little dirty or mis-shapen. They don't need to be kept refrigerated after purchase. I know when they were laid. I know how the chickens (and ducks) are reared. I know what they're fed. And I know that they taste a whole lot better!

Yes, I'll take a dozen of these, please.



The small blue ones come from the Crested Cream Legbars. The long brown ones come from Chestnut. The large blue ones and the pale one next to them come from the ducks. The small white ones are from Elvis...

Chickens allowed to be chickens