Ethical shopping versus economy

Justie · 30 January 2007 at 11:02AM

Cardew wrote:

I sometimes wonder what planet people live on with regard to their views on Free Range egg production. Rather like an earlier thread where someone(unbelievably) claimed they only eat meat from animals that had lived a happy and contented life!!

I am a confirmed carnivore - in case anyone thinks I am a vegitarian - I just don't delude myself that free range hens have other than a ghastly existence or try to salve my concience by claiming otherwise.

It's about education - only if you know about the reality can you make an informed choice. Most people don't have the time or energy to research all their food. Our local farm shop sells free range chickens but ask them if they actually go outside and the answer is no, not really - you can't ask that at the supermarket...

There are also some small local producers who keep genuinely free range hens in small flocks so not all free range is bad...

elmer · 30 January 2007 at 11:24PM

I buy the mushrooms in the boxes so that I can use the boxes to grow my seedlings in and then later my lettuces, I have no opinion on eggs as I get them from a friends hens.

Elmer xxx

lilac_lady · 30 January 2007 at 11:30PM

I always buy free-range eggs (even for baking ) because of the cruelty to the chickens in any other environment.

liz545 · 31 January 2007 at 12:11AM

Cardew - do you think it's preferable to buy eggs labeled as 'Free Range' which might not be, or eggs labeled as 'Caged Hens' which definately are?

Cardew · 31 January 2007 at 1:30AM

liz545 wrote:

Cardew - do you think it's preferable to buy eggs labeled as 'Free Range' which might not be, or eggs labeled as 'Caged Hens' which definately are?

I think it makes no difference at all in the vast majority of cases.

What is the difference between stuffed into a cage or being 'free range' and standing on wire mesh in a shed at a density of 25 birds to a square metre?

What percentage of free range eggs do you feel are not from birds kept in squalid conditions? Less than 1% I would wager.

Plenty of evidence on the internet for all to see.

conradmum · 31 January 2007 at 8:16AM

We buy organic, and seasonal - for nearly everything, meat, veges, fruit, eggs. Yes, we spend a fair proportion of our money on food, but this is only as it used to be and we just go without other stuff. I don't know about the UK but I read recently that the percentage of income spent on food in the USA had decreased from about 40% 50 years ago to 10% today. And look at how unhealthy and obese the Americans are as a nation.
The way I see it, we're investing in our health and the environment.
Put your money where your mouth is I say!

emily_jackson · 1 February 2007 at 11:51PM

I find buying power one of the easiest ways to be greenn in terms of convenience. I would love to buy "green" all the time, but just can't afford it. I needed to buy eggs the other day, and really wanted to buy the free-range organic, eco-friendly packaged ones, but just couldn't afford them, so bought the cheap ones. However, I do try to buy "green" when I have extra money. I think it's well worth remembering that although "green" products are usually expensive, some of them work out cheaper in the long run. For example, an energy-efficient lightbulb lasts 8 times as long as an ordianary one.

lynzpower · 2 February 2007 at 3:56PM

I have to agree with the free range argument of cardews. I expect tescos free range hens have very little extra quality of life to thier value ones

Much as Id love to find a farm shop, inner london doenst have that many :wall:

Although, i am getting a co car soon, so might be able to swing by somewhere on my way home all being well. Id love to have hens but right in our spot we have LOADS of foxes, so i dont tihnk its gonna happen.

Ill be growing a fair amount of stuff for this year, which ( especially things like spinach/ lettuce leaves, hopefullly mushrooms! along with other stuff) will reduce our impact massively.

raeble · 13 February 2007 at 5:50PM

Is it really ethical to spend all your money on 'Organic' when it has travelled thousands of miles to be there? When you could get something that has only travelled a couple hundred miles but isn't organic? Which one is going to damage the environment more? What's in a label?

Similarly how free range is free range? If a bird is in a cage then at least it will get a defined area of space all it's own. Can you say that about one of those 'free range' sheds that are packed with chickens? The only time I've noticed any difference in eggs is when I bought them from the farmers market and they were huge and freshly laid that day. They didn't say free range but they tasted much better than anything I've got out of the supermarket.

conradmum · 13 February 2007 at 9:36PM

Yes I agree. Although we generally buy organic we also buy in season, which usually means not imported. Also, organic rules vary from country to country, so buying organic from abroad isn't the same as buying organic here.

Ethical shopping versus economy

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