Egg Recall Has Me Hunting for a Local Egg Supplier

Photo credit: FDA Release

There’s no doubt this massive egg recall (last I saw the number of suspect eggs reached half a billion) is going to cause some folks who were on the fence to jump at the chance to raise their own backyard chickens.

What better way to know the source of your eggs?

Just driving down the street yesterday, I saw a backyard coop going up in a yard about half the size of mine. 

And I expect our local farmers will be seeing increased demand for eggs that aren’t from large factory farms. I’ll be at the Oak Park Farmers Market this weekend and I’ll be asking egg vendors if they’re experiencing any egg shortages since the Aug. 13 Wright County Egg/Hillandale recall.

There are thousands of news articles about the recall, especially as new brand names are added to the watch list. And in the mix, I’ve seen a few that have focused on local farmers and markets, assuring the public that their eggs are safe, that their chickens are regularly tested and their operations are clean.

I’m glad this disaster, hopefully one without fatalities, will shine a light on good practices at the same time it reveals the perils of too much consolidation.

The Washington Post is reporting that just “192 large egg companies own about 95 percent of laying hens in this country.”

That’s down from from 2,500 in 1987!

“I don’t think people have any idea when they see all these brand names in the stores that so many are coming from the same place,” Patty Lovera, assistant director of Food and Water Watch, a food safety organization, told the Post. “It raises the stakes — if one company is doing something wrong, it affects a lot of food.”

A lot of food indeed: 500 million eggs recalled and 1,300 people sickened.

But is all this enough to move me to construct a chicken house where my backyard swing sits?

I’ve long considered housing two or three hens right there. But truthfully, after getting a guinea pig and gecko this year, I’m not sure I can manage yet another animal – or three – to care for. And I’m not sure I want to be tripping over chickens when we’re playing soccer or catch.

Plus, I have no illusions about what it takes to keep chickens clean and healthy. They’re a lot of work and need more time than I have these days.

Still, this recall has me even more inclined to buy my eggs local, from small farmers who put a premium on keeping their animals and environment as clean and healthy as possible.