A HEN OR AN EGG?

CIWF Polska, while having the upcoming Easter holidays in mind, asks a philosophical question " a hen or an egg?" and it immediately suggests: the choice is not a philosophy, let us choose a hen and its wellbeing. The hen that is nibbling the green grass, basking in the sun and spreading its wings happily. CIWF Polska organization has prepared a funny Easter campaign with images of ancient philosophers (in the pictures there are: Aristotle, Socrates, Epicurus, Pythagoras and Plato), who return with the philosophical question: a hen or an egg, but this time a question directed to modern consumers. In order not to make you bother about the answer - the organization gives the answer that it has already conducted research and thought the answer over, and the best possible choice is ... a hen walking on the grass. How is it possible? "Our organization has been existing for 50 years and was founded by the hen breeder in the 60-ies. We have begun the first campaigns in the world, which were directed against the cage breeding of hens. The aim of CIWF is to eliminate such intensive animal rearing and to change the system in which it will be no longer possible. Thanks to our campaigns groundbreaking changes could happen and battery cages are banned throughout the European Union, but we did not limit ourselves to this. We believe that animal rearing in cages without any access to the light or a fowl yard, is not natural, but most of all - it is very cruel to animals"- said Małgorzata Szadkowska from CIWF Polska organization.

On www.ciwf.pl/niekupuj3 website, the foundation has put the materials from the investigation, which was carried out on hen farms in Poland. You can see there that hens in cages are kept in bad conditions. Eggs from hens bred in such conditions are marked - 3. It is the most intensive system - the crowded hens have never (ie. by approximately 1,5 years) come out of the narrow cages arranged side by side in metal hangars. The area for one animal, is little more than A4 card. Providing light, feed and water in such places are completely automated. Almost 90% of hens in our country are bred this way (30 million annually). Animals in cages are not able to move freely and express their natural behaviour, such as looking for food or bathing in the sand, which allow hens to maintain the purity of their feathers. Besides, staying with other hens in too small space, they react aggressively and hurt each other and peck feathers.

Solution? It is the best to avoid eggs marked with the number 3 and choose those from a free range (numbers 1 and 0). This way we can contribute both to improving conditions of hens and our own health. It is worth checking the numbers on eggs and remember what is behind these numbers. Do not buy no. 3, because it means the suffering of animals put into a small area and additionally - worse quality of food.

STUDIES COMPARING EGGS
The organization have conducted more than 200 studies comparing the nutritional values of eggs marked with the number 3 (cages) with 0 and 1 (ie. free range). The results are very promising, in favour of the eggs from free range hens. According to the report, eggs from free range generally contain a higher amount of omega-3 acids and better ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 acids in comparison with cage eggs. Some of the free range eggs also proved to be a particularly a rich source of long chain omega-3 acids, including DHA. The report has also shown that eggs from hens residing in the grass often contain more antioxidants (vitamin E, beta-carotene and lutein) than cage eggs.