OMG, NBC agrees with us MAHA folk that small flocks that are pastured are much safer (and tastier) than CAFO’d chicks when bird flu comes calling
Not to mention that the eggs are more nutritious, colorful, tasty and the chickens are happier.
“The source of the virus is in the wild birds, so pasture-raised birds would have an increased risk of exposure,” said Andrew Bowman, a professor of veterinary medicine at Ohio State University who studies animal influenza. Fully confined egg farms use netting to keep out wild birds, he said, but if the virus does enter those facilities, it can spread like wildfire among chickens kept in cramped quarters.
Like much of the nation’s agricultural sector, the egg industry has consolidated over time. Fewer than 150 commercial egg farms with flocks of at least 75,000 now house over 95% of egg-laying hens, the United Egg Producers trade group estimates. Among large operators, at least three in Indiana, Ohio and North Carolina, each with over 250,000 hens, have been affected by bird flu so far just this year.
Organic and cage-free egg farmers produce only 15% of the nation’s eggs, UEP estimates, and many of them say they’re struggling to meet rising demand as their products become more price-competitive. But that isn’t stopping some from touting what they say is a more ethical approach to the business. Some farms and retailers have been advertising pasture-raised eggs as exempt from “price gouging” that they blame on the commercial approach.
“I think the industry probably needs to take note,” said Matt Watson, who sells eggs from his family farm in Chester, South Carolina. “Look at the pastured model and see if they could pick up anything that would help to protect our food supply.”
Watson said he embraced more sustainable farming methods in 2007 after trying conventional ones and now raises all his animals on open pasture. He’s convinced that growers, animals and consumers are all better off, though he acknowledged it usually costs more to farm this way. His eggs currently retail for around $7.25 a dozen, but he hopes the ongoing shortage spurs more consumers to take a closer look.
“It becomes more appealing to people if they’re going to pay a pretty high price for eggs anyway,” he said, adding that many customers will stick with pasture-raised for the taste once they’ve tried them.
Maybe the crazy cruel culling is over. And USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said yesterday that she won’t be rushing into vaccinations for cows and chickens—not till they are proven to do more good than harm. This was a major pullback.
And Elon doesn’t like the culling either. Looks like we will learn to live with these viruses. This is a great day for chickens, eggs and us.
