Not all organic eggs are created equally. As you might know from my previous posts: I love eggs. I especially love organic eggs. They taste better, have more beneficial nutrients in them, and the shell doesn’t break as easily. Everything about them says higher quality than factory farmed eggs.
The Problem With the Organic Label
As I said above, not all organic eggs are created equally. In fact, a disturbing majority of eggs bearing the USDA- Organic label may not be more than just creatively navigating loopholes in organic labeling legislation to part you from your hard earned cash.
How Do Your Eggs Score?
The Cornucopia Institute, an organization dedicated to promoting family-scale farms and the integrity of organic food, came out with a report that rated the quality of organic eggs based on strict guidelines. Check out the scorecard to how your organic eggs measure up: Organic Egg Scorecard.
In the report, they visited over %15 of the certified organic egg farms. Apparently industrial agribusinesses are taking short cuts to get the certified organic label on their eggs to tap into the fast-growing organic market. Mark Kastel, The Cornucopia Institute’s co-director and senior farm policy analyst had this to say: “After visiting over 15% of the certified egg farms in the United States, and surveying all name-brand and private-label industry marketers, it’s obvious that a high percentage of the eggs on the market should be labeled ‘produced with organic feed’ rather than bearing the USDA-certified organic logo.”
Consumer Power
I am a big proponent of the organic movement so it’s a bit frustrating to see this happening. The way to combat this type of corporate behavior is to be an educated consumer. Consumers have the ultimate power in our capitalist society so it’s time to exercise that power; if we don’t buy, they go out of business. Check out the Egg Scorecard by clicking HERE to make sure the organic eggs you are buying come from a business that has high standards while adhering to the certified organic regulations.
What Do They Have to Hide?
It is also important to note that some businesses would not participate by allowing an independent group to visit the farm. You would think that if a business had very high production quality for a product that this would be great marketing for them; it makes me wonder what they have to hide.
