What Came First?

Can you tell the difference between these two eggs? I certainly couldn't. They both tasted the same, as good as my hot-sauce depleted taste buds can tell.

One egg came from a farm that feeds their chickens only certified organic feed and the second from a farm that has only free-range chickens. It's exceedingly difficult to find eggs that are both free-range and organically fed. In fact, I challenge you to find a dozen eggs from a store that are both organic and free-range. I don't think you'll have any luck.

On Cape Breton it's practically impossible to find organic and free-range eggs. Organic feed costs are prohibitive and you can't even buy bags at the farm coop in Sydney. So the local egg "producers" buy conventional genetically modified feed for their birds. If you are into organic then you'll have a big free-run operation where chickens live inside a big barn but eat organically. At least that's the feeling I get. Am I wrong?

The eggs from Heart's Content Organic Farmstead are the only ones that I know are completely free-range and organic. And they certainly looked and tasted wonderful. Even the freak eggs, the ones that wouldn't get the Grade A label.

It seems to me that if I want to enjoy a healthy and ethical omelette that the only solution is to raise your own chickens. Not that many of course, we're not in this to make money. But if you had a couple of chickens you could enjoy eggs a few times a week. And they aren't that much work even with our busy lives; just let them out in the morning and in in the evening and make sure they have enough water. In fact you might not even have to get them feed since you probably produce enough table scraps to keep them going. Then instead of hoping and guessing, as I've been doing, you'll be able to find free-range and organic eggs.

Just don't tell the city about it.