Seasonal eggs?

When we talk about eating locally, organic, fresh and in-season, we mainly think about fruit and vegetables. Not much thought is given to other foodstuffs such as grain products, meat, fish and dairy, however there is some evidence that even these foods have a certain seasonality to them While the seasonality of grain products is obscured by the fact that they are easy to store dried at normal room temperatures for extended periods (4-8 months), the seasonality of meat products and dairy is not immediately obvious. In a recent article in the New York Times, Susanne E Friedberg examines how eggs are naturally a seasonal product (chickens lay eggs mainly in the spring, so that their young chicks have a greater change of survival in the summer months) and (in a follow-up article) how our modern egg production and cold storage methods have made this trend dissipate. In addition to this modern method of storeage, farms are forcing hens to produce eggs are very high rate - rates that in some cases endanger the health of the layen hens themselves. In gourmet cuisine, chefs are turning to eggs from free-range and naturally foraging hens, as these chefs are aware of the marked difference in the quality of the eggs. Is it any surprise that laying hens that are pushed so hard that they are barely alive produce low quality eggs? This issue is not only an issue of animal welfare - but an issue of your nutrition.

The videos below illustrate the idealised version of the egg production process from the Discovery Television show How It's Made (produced here in Québec) (first video) and the reality of some industrial egg production facilities (second video).

WARNING: DO NOT WATCH THE SECOND VIDEO IF YOU ARE DELICATE OR SQUEAMISH