Most of us (65% to be exact) are happy to cough up a couple extra dollars for free range eggs instead of caged ones. Animal rights and all that.
According to Choice, however, egg production companies are straight up taking the piss.
They’ve released a damning report confirming that over 213 million so-called ‘free range eggs’ sold last year didn’t meet consumers ‘free range’ expectation, and is just a case of egg production companies playing people who want to make ethical purchases.
Considering we pay on average 99 cents per free range egg, and about 55 cents per caged egg, that’s a shitload of dollars we’re mistakenly spending on non-free range eggs.
It largely comes down to the stocking density of hens within a hectare, which is where companies are tricking you into thinking barn yard is the same as free range is the same as cage free, etc etc.
1,500 hens per hectare is considered ethically sound, but the Australian Egg Corporation admitted that a third of ‘free range’ companies cram over 20,000 hens into one hectare.
The report found absolutely no correlation between stocking density and price (see table below – also a handy guide if you want to ethically spend your egg-purchasing dollars).
“The reality is that none of the labels in the big supermarkets can be trusted, because they don’t mean anything, even if they are accredited by someone,” said Phil Westwood, of Freeranger Eggs.
Choice is proposing a standard display on all eggs, displaying stocking density.
State and territory consumer affairs ministers are meeting tomorrow in Melbourne to discuss a national code.
Meanwhile, here’s a handy guide to the differences between free range, barn laid, and caged eggs.
Image: AFP via Getty images
