Battery eggs…
I’ve just watched a programme with Jamie Oliver going through the process of battery eggs right from little chickens being born (and male chickens being killed at birth) right up to the end of their year in the battery hen cage when they’re slaughtered and all their bits and pieces are shipped over the world.
A battery hen cage contains around 4 hens, to give you an idea what that’s like it’s like having 4 men in your average sized shower. In four years this process of farming will be illigal but some hens will still be kept in cages just in slightly less crampt conditions.
The problem is that as long as we continue to want cheaper products in supermarkets the longer this process of egg producing will continue. I apreciate that students and people on tight budgets just can’t afford to pay for organic free-range eggs so I have a solution which I personally think is viable.
I think that big supermarket chains such as ASDA, Tesco & Sainsburys are in positions of great power, positions where they should be encouraging us to buy more wisely. The problem is they want to make profit (naturally) yet also want to attract customers by low prices.
Obviously I am no expert in finance and I know that any loss for a business is a bad thing however I also know that supermarkets make very little (if any) profit from bread. Now what would happen if a supermarket was to cut out battery hen produced eggs completely and only sell free-range eggs, but instead of a consequence for this meaning the consumer has to pay a higher price the supermarket would knock the price down at the consequence of making less profit (if any) on the eggs….surely they make enough money on everything else to be able to afford to do that?
Just a thought/theory/suggestion…comments would be nice 
NOTE: Gavin informs me that the co-op, sainsbury and waitrose no longer stock battery eggs, and that it’s just Tesco and Asda being evil
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The whole Asda/Tesco thing is ongoing. They are huge corporations who basically want to undercut each other in order to attract loyal customers. Usually the response when I tell people that I shop at Waitrose is “Oooo, that’s expensive”. Actually, it isn’t expensive, brands tend to be the same price (Kelloggs cornflakes and Heinz ketchup) The difference however is in the low coast economy/value ranges. Waitrose hasn’t got these. And supermarket loyalty on the whole is decided by what are thought of as staples- bread, milk and eggs. The cheaper these can be sold at, the rest of your produce doesn’t really need to be.
I enjoyed the programme and liked Jamie’s approach (ie not winding up British farmers, realising that some people wouldn’t have changed their eating habits by the end of the programme) What did you think? Will you change your habits?
See that’s typically my arguement for places like sainsbury’s too, plus value stuff is typically cheap because the quality is awful.
I liked the program and his approach, I would change my habits, however as it stands the only time I shop with my uni arrangement is for youth group weekends…the last one I got everything fairtrade and recycled that I could….so it’s getting there
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Mark Tiddy
In his spare time Mark plays several instruments and enjoys song writing.
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