Choice Overload
I'm a bit ashamed to say I had a bit of a hissy fit in the supermarket on the weekend, like a two year old whose mum won't buy her lollies.
But it wasn't sweet treats that caused my meltdown.
It was eggs.
Specifically, that there were too many of them.
How the freak am I supposed to choose which eggs I want when there are 4,000 different types??
Hmmm, which ones do I want?
The Barn Laid "Hen Friendly" (i.e. big metal shed) eggs, Cage Laid Omega 3-enriched Organic but-our-hens-don't-have-enough-room-to-turn-sideways eggs, "Free Range" but read the fine print cos we're really lying, suckers! eggs, or the Why-don't-you-just-give-up-now-and-become-vegan eggs?
When faced with about 5 different so-called Free Range eggs with deliberately vague descriptions of exactly what kind of conditions their hens live in, I finally had enough.
Poor Mr K. I started ranting about Big Bad Lying Egg Farmers and why wasn't there one damn egg carton that was straight-up about what it contained, and I just want eggs that are Good People Eggs… rah, rah rah…
I'm sure he had visions of an aisle soon to be full of whites and yolks, as he hurriedly brought over a carton of $20-for-10-Hand-Fed-Hen-Day-Spa eggs, trying to placate me.
But I wasn't having any of it. I refused to buy any and stomped off swearing to track down someone with hens in their backyard and only buying from them until the egg companies decide to Get Real.
I mean it.
I know it's quite possible there are eggs on supermarket shelves produced by relatively happy hens with room to peck and scratch and do other hen-like stuff outdoors. But the Big Bad Lying Egg Farmers who deliberately design truth-obfuscating packaging to confuse customers are doing a damn good job at making them hard to pick out.
So I'm off to track down a nice local chook owner willing to sell me some lovely, yummy, nutritious, blissed-out hen eggs.
xx Kiki
I totally agree with you. It’s one of my biggest bug bears about shopping at the supermarket. I try to buy as little as possible from the supermarket, preferring to buy most of my fresh food from either the local F&V vendor (who gets happy chicken eggs from the Hunter Valley) or the nice lady at the produce market we go to once a month. But sometimes I have no choice but to buy them from the supermarket and I spend so much time trying to work out which people lie the least. If you find those happy hen eggs, they are amazing though!
You may be able to find a reliable source by asking questions at the Farmers Markets on Saturday mornings. The one in Chesterville Road is open every Saturday, then there are the ones at Glen Eira SC, Peanut Farm, St. Kilda, and of course the Gasworks.
Kitty – Your comment “I spend so much time trying to work out which people lie the least” hits the nail on the head! How sad is it that we no longer expect companies to tell us the truth, so we now look for the least lies?
Mum – Great idea. I didn’t know that there was a farmer’s market on Chesterville Rd. How convenient that it’s every Saturday. Will go next weekend.
I have a great butcher who sells all organic and free range meat (no small print either) and he also sells proper free range eggs. And they’re actually really well priced as well, cheaper than at the supermarket. Is there anone like this in your area? If so it might be worth a try, even if they don’t have the eggs they may know where to get some/which brands are okay.
Sally – You’re not in Melbourne are you? I’d love to find a butcher like that.