Gross! I just recently learned what goes on with egg laying hens. You really don’t want to know. (But in case you do, you can see it here.) I was in a real bind because I LOVE eggs! As much as I admire those who can be vegans, I don’t think I am up for the challenge. And I knew from my friend Angie that eggs labeled “cage-free” or “free-range” weren’t any better.
But as luck would have it, the same day that I saw that video, a friend of mine asked if I was interested in having dairy products delivered from a local farm (Seriously, it was the same day. How weird is that??).
So here’s the deal. Every other week, you set out a cooler and the dairy delivery fairy sneaks over in the dark of night to deliver all the dairy products your heart desires. Or all of the dairy items that you ordered online that week. And because it is from a small, local dairy farm that you can tour yourself (my friend and her daughter did just that), you know all the nastiness that was going on in that video is not going on here!
Our dairy farm is called South Mountain Creamery, so if you are in the DMV area you should check it out. The delivery fee is $3.75 so if you split it with someone, as Ann and I do, it is pretty reasonable. And all the dairy products are priced at about what they would be in the store. And the best part might be the adorable packaging…
For those of us of a mid-century vintage, this looks very familiar. Joe the Milkman (no relation to Joe the Plumber! Ack!) used to bring all our dairy products in his truck every week and leave them on the porch, picking up the empty glass bottles at the same time. We’d have to shake the milk to mix the cream in. (Oh, p.s. Caitlin: Who’s the skippy now?)
That is so turn-of-the-century, Cailtin. I love it! Now I am wondering if we have anything like this in Walnut Creek!
When Dan and Whit were growing up we had Crescent Ridge, Needham, Ma. deliver at least once a week. the company is still around!
But question . what is wrong with cage free etc. eggs? from Whole Foods or other organic market.
Bibi,
Here is what I learned about the “free-range” label from my friend Angie’s blog (www.powered-by-produce.com):
The official regulation for ”free-range” is that the birds have “access to the outdoors.” So, often times, there is only a single, small door in the shed (packed with thousands of hens), which leads to a concrete patch or manure field, in some cases it is only opened for about 5 minutes per day, and only a few number of hens even realize that the door exists. These chickens and eggs earn the free-range label. There are absolutely no regulations on the amount of space per bird, the environmental conditions (concrete vs. grass), or the amount of time spent outdoors (if any).
It is so annoying because you pay a premium for those eggs!
That is neat that y’all had milk delivered when the kids were little. It is really so convenient, too!
Dairy Delivery: Was it Miller’s Dairy? There was some connection to our name, I recall.
And do you remember the FRESH HORSE MEAT that Trixie had delivered? Yes, that’s FRESH and RAW. Came in plastic bags, with a rubber band. Smelled yukky and rubber bands were slimy by the last batch. Us kids had to feed her….
Free range in California means just that – and cost about $8 per dozen. Raising chickens au naturale is not like in fairytale books! The hens have their beaks cut (to ward off cannibalism), and wings clipped on one side so they can’t fly away. No roosters allowed, those are tossed in a wood chipper right after hatching. Otherwise there would be cock fights, bloody like you can’t believe.
By the way, I now have a silver Seabright! Working on a cage and house for her today. We can have up to 10 hens in City of Roseville.
Caitlin & Kathy are exactly right. The “free-range” and “cage-free” labels are essentially meaningless, as Caitlin mentioned above. And the cruelty and abuse that goes into eggs that Kathy talked about is just awful. Baby male chicks are literally ground up alive because males do not lay eggs and are therefore useless to the egg industry. This is a practice in ALL categories of egg farms (organic, free-range, cage-free, conventional).
Milk is equally as awful. Dairy cows are sickly, abused, pumped full of antibiotics and hormones (to keep milk production up), and constantly impregnated (to continue the lactating). Then once they are “spent” (exhusted from the years of torture), they are slaughtered for cheap ground beef (read: fast food). Not to mention that the calves which are born from the constant impregnation are sold as veal. Yep, that veal that you so vehemently oppose (or should), is directly linked to your milk.
This is why it is SO IMPORTANT to only purchase milk & eggs from a farm that you know and trust! Make sure that you are able to see the farm with your very own eyes, so you know for sure that the animals are treated well. Take the time to ask the farmer about how s/he raises them (How much time do they spend outside? Are their beaks cut? How much space does each hen have? What is the average lifespan? etc.)
Purchasing from humane operations like South Mountain Creamery supports and helps to grow ethical business, while removing support and profits from unethical ones.
I am lucky enough to have an ex-coworker who has 3 chickens living in luxury in his backyard. They produce so many eggs, he has to give them away to me! I repay him by making him a jar of pickled okra every summer. Something tells me SA doesnt have a dairy delivery…