This is How I Get my Eggs

THIS IS HOW I GET MY EGGS

A coworker of mine has a 8 year old son who expressed interest in raising chickens.  His parents agreed and they bought a few chickens and a coop.  One day I received an email that they had some extra eggs if anyone was interested.  Apparently the chickens were quite productive!  Well, I got in touch with them and bought a dozen eggs for a $5 donation to the son, which I was told he would use to buy food and supplies for the chickens.  This week I bought my third dozen eggs and I feel as though I am coming to rely on this young entrepreneur and his well producing ladies.  Not only are the eggs extra tasty, I appreciate knowing that my money is being invested back into such a worthwhile learning experience for a budding businessman.

I'm sure many of you have seen media of the mass chicken farms where animals have no room to move, sit in their own waste, and often eat things that in no way resemble what a chicken would eat in the wild.  When I pick up a carton of eggs in the store, I'm often haunted by this scene.  Even when reading labels that say, free-range, cage free, organic, no horomones, I still feel leery about the business to which I am about to give my money.  There is a lot of research out there that points to the fact that businesses can use these labels quite flexibly when it comes to what free range actually means.  In some cases it can mean having a door open for some portion of a day, during which none of the animals actually even go outside. With so much confusion and mass production of food these days, it comes as some relief to simply buy eggs from a child who raises chickens in his back yard.  I don't have to wonder about the treatment of the birds or what was added to their feed.  Truth be told,  I trust this 9 year old boy with the production of my food more than a large egg company.

To all those parents of younger kids out there, maybe consider chicken raising as a small business for your children.  It's a powerful learning experience for understanding basic economics, animal care, and responsibility simply from raising chickens, or is it the eggs?