Barbara Kingsolver & Her Mother Hen Eyes (or The Real Reason for Organic)

(from: http://cookwithfire.wordpress.com/)

I picked up a copy of the Washington Post this morning and flipped through the headlines. BP, Gaza, Mine Safety, The Taste of... Eggs? Please don't judge me, but this article is the one that caused me to sit down and spend some quality time with the chair.

If you've read Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle you may recall her flavor desciption of the backyard eggs of which she was so proud. The copy I read has long since been returned to the library, so I can not quote, but her description had something to do with being superior to the wimps available at the supermarket (in fact, pretty much everything available from the supermarket faced that label). I had no reason not to believe; being an organic & free-range advocate, it seemed only logical that healthy, happy animals kept free from chemicals and unnatural feed would produce far better tasting eggs, dairy and meat.

It appears I was wrong in the case of eggs.

According to the Washington Post article's author, Tamar Haspel, all eggs, even those from happy hens, "...just taste like eggs, and don't let anyone tell you different." This is something for the author to admit as she raises her own laying hens. Tamar, who became curious about any differences between fresh eggs and those from the store after cooking her first backyard egg, came to this conclusion using the most scientific approach available to a mere human- a blind taste test among a panel of friends. Three varying grades of eggs were gathered, cooked, tasted and commented on by the judges. After the tallies were taken, the conclusion was that all three types of eggs (plain storebought, high-end organic, and her backyard beauties) came out exactly even.

I was floored. It appears others who read the parallel post on Tamar's blog were as well. Unable to let the results rest, she went in search of an explanation. Her sleuthing lead her to Auburn University's Pat Curtis, an all-things-chicken connoisseur who ruffled no feathers about the findings. Says Pat, "People's perception of egg flavor is mostly psychological...When you have them actually taste, there's not enough difference to tell."

It appears that Ms. Kingsolver's rapture over her backyard dozen is nothing more than an emotional connection to her hens and hard work. Does this conclusion mean I am throwing the organic eggs out the door? Au contraire. While there were some advantages noted for baking purposes, the most important point of going free-range and organic is as follows:

Being in the business of organic baking, I am bound to a certain code of ethics. Although I do find myself still hoping that there is a noticeable taste difference in the eggs, the larger issue remains. The real value in backyard/urban coops as well as *true* free-range and organic lies in the way the chickens are raised and cared for- which trumps any gains in taste. Animals have the right to live their lives as intended. We have the responsibility to provide chickens with their right to forage, cows to their right to leisurely graze and pigs with their right to dig up roots just as much as we have the responsibility to give Mrs. Sugarlump, the family four-paw, love and care.

P.S. If you know a human Mrs. Sugarlump, my apologies.