20
PAKU VIEWS ISSUE 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2011-12
HEALTH
The “Every Day” Farmer’s Market
(Closed Saturdays till Christmas then open everyday 8-5)
OPOUTERE VALLEY ORCHARD
Tree ripened fruit and garden fresh vegetables our specialty
Pasture-fed “Free Range” Eggs available at our hens’ discretion
1079 State Highway 25, Whangamata
few changes on Chris’ draft ad to go
here - he said to make sure you did a
good job for him on it.
We had a bit of a talk about what
to name the chooks corralled by
the dog “Kelly”
About the best we could come
Erina & Chris Bailey
07 865 8879
Pasture-Fed Eggs
Better for the chickens...Better for you
Even with all that pasture, these curious chooks look for
something more.
How long is too long to keep an egg?
Some say up to 5 weeks, but of course,
like any food or produce, the nutrient value fades with age. With no packing dates on the
carton, it is impossible to know how old the eggs are when purchased. It is believed that
eggs from large scale egg producing operations could be up to 2 weeks old by the time
they get to the supermarket.
Gently place eggs in water that is cool, but not cold. If it:
- Sinks to the bottom and stays there–it is three to six days old.
- Sinks, but foats at an angle–it’s more than a week old.
- Sinks, but then stands on end–it’s about two weeks old.
- Floats–it’s too old and should be discarded.
As an egg ages and loses the bloom, the transfer of air through the shell causes this
buoyancy. At frst, the egg will just barely tilt upward. As days pass, the egg will stand more
upright. Once the egg reaches the fully upright position, some say that’s when you feed it to
the dogs. No one argues that an egg is offcially bad when it leaves contact with the bottom
of the bowl. These eggs, called “foaters” should be discarded.
Bryony McNabb (8) has several pet chooks on the family property.
She is pictured with her beloved Molly with eggs the family will
surely enjoy.
Eggciting News!!! A study released by Mother
Earth News, an American magazine that plays
a leading role in promoting health-enhancing,
natural foods, shows that eggs from hens that
range freely on pasture are far more nutritious
than those from confnement operations
Samples collected from 14 pastured focks across the
US were tested at an accredited laboratory. The results
were compared to offcial US Department of Agriculture
data for commercial eggs and showed the pastured eggs
contained an amazing:
- 2/3 more vitamin A
- 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
- 7 times more beta carotene
- 3 times more vitamin E
- 4-6 times more Vitamin D
- 1/3 less cholesterol than commercial eggs
- 1/4 less saturated fat
Sunshine for Hens–more Vitamin D for you
Pastured hens are exposed to direct sunlight, which their
bodies convert to vitamin D and then pass on to the eggs.
The Mother Earth editors found that eating just two eggs
will give you from 63-126% of the recommended daily
intake of vitamin D. (See the sidebar for more info about
the importance of this nutrient and how to get more.)
Note that these benefts come only from hens that are free
to graze fresh greens, eat bugs, and bask in the sun. Even
though a label says that the eggs are “certifed organic” or
come from “uncaged” or “free-range” hens or from hens
fed an “all-vegetarian” diet, this is no guarantee that the
hens had access to the outdoors or pasture that included
sunshine.
Even when caged birds were put back “on the range” after
confnement, their eggs increased in nutritional value –
pasture grasses and the bugs made up for whatever was
missing in the restrictive environment and diets.
Eggs from pastured hens higher in folic acid and
vitamin B12
In 1974, British consumers were concerned about the
trend toward factory farming. Specifcally, they thought
factory eggs might not be as nutritious as eggs from
free-ranging birds. An elaborate British study confrmed
their suspicions. Eggs from free-range hens contained
signifcantly more folic acid and vitamin B12.
Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid both play a big role in the
metabolic processes. Vitamin B12 works to reactivate folic
acid, when there is a defciency in Vitamin B12, folic acid
defciency follows.
In addition to iron, the body needs vitamin B12 and folic
acid for the production of healthy red blood cells. If there
is a lack of one or more of these nutrients, anemia may
develop.
A lack of folic acid may also cause intestinal problems as
well as the usual symptoms of anemia.
Distributors getting “cagey” about labelling
We consumers may think a “free range” label insures
chickens have been allowed to range freely outdoors
resulting in healthy, humane conditions for the birds and
more nutritious eggs for us. However, according to Frenz
Eggs NZ, there is no authorised, industry agreed free
range standard in NZ. Hens can be kept in extraordinary
conditions, and still produce eggs that can be labelled as
free range. If 15,000 hens are put in a single barn, very few
actually get to venture outside, and even if they do, most
certainly don’t fnd lush green paddocks that you often see
on the packaging. These so called “free range hens’ have
never seen the light of day.
Thus, if you want to reap the increased nutritious rewards
revealed in the Mother Earth study, it’s up to you to confrm
that the eggs you buy come from true “pastured” free-
range conditions. You are most likely to fnd these superior
eggs at farmer’s markets and natural food shops or by
purchasing directly from your local farmer.
Full results of the tests and study are available at
“I’ve done the hard yards and rounded them up! Now
it’s your turn!” says Kelly, the Bayley’s beloved dog at
Opoutere Valley Orchards. She passed away 2 years ago
and is greatly missed by all, except maybe the chooks.
(See her taking to the surf on p 17.)