Recently I’ve heard a lot of people go on about the price of eggs; however, I have noticed one thing that seems to be adding to this yolk crisis, and that is the fact eggs are getting thinner, well the shells are at least. Yes, this post will also be laced with countless puns so I do apologise, but… I simply couldn’t help myself.
I will start by admitting that I am fairly limited in my culinary skills regarding the fruit of hens, this due to my childlike palate. With only eating scrambled eggs personally and utilising them in the occasional pancake mix clearly making me the best candidate to carry this story.
So what’s the observation and why on earth did I see value in writing about such a thing?
Well, that’s down to the fact that I actually thought I was going mad and hope that by sharing a little bit about what I have learned, I prevent others from this ‘eggperience’; okay, I promise no more.
I’m going to need to ‘lay’ a little foundation for this story, so please bear with me, and hopefully it will all make sense. Over recent months, I’ve come to realise that upon cracking an egg, I have been spending more time picking bits of egg out of my bowl. Now I struggle to believe that as I’ve got older, I’ve got worse at cracking an egg.
Also, it turns out that I’m not the only person that has been struggling with this issue; in fact, without sounding strange, I have indeed approached this conversation with various confidants and peers. It appears that we do indeed have a crisis, and I felt best positioned to be the one to ‘crack’ this story…
Are eggshells getting thinner?
Short answer: Yes. Although you have probably come to appreciate now, I don’t tend to stop at the short answer. Now at this stage I assume that most reading this will be aware of what an “egg” is, although for clarity in my research I do feel it necessary to highlight that in this case we are discussing chicken eggs.
For further clarity in my research, when I say “research,” I actually mean short time spent searching online. Surprisingly I didn’t have to go that far to start finding a few answers, which shocked me as honestly, I didn’t think there would be much out there to get my teeth into.
As it turns out, real journalists have already been picking up the story for me, with Katie Notopoulos’s It’s not just you. Eggshells really are chipping more, even making it to economy pages of lead publication Business Insider. With the author clearly sharing her own experiences with the statement,
“My technique hasn’t changed. The type of eggs I buy hasn’t changed. It’s gotta be the eggs, right?”
Well, just like Katie’s statement in her article, I was right to have confidence in my egg-cracking ability, as it is indeed the egg.
There is a complete science to this, and not surprisingly it starts with the chicken itself. There are in fact numerous reasons that may lead to the thinning of eggs, the main antagonists mainly being age and diet. Just like ourselves, it turns out the humble chicken is indeed a product of its environment, with just the slightest upset to this leading to more shell in your scramble. I admit when I first started this little investigation, I thought this would be a quick dive in and out, yet here I am, still looking at the dietary recommendation of poultry, whilst questioning the ethical retirement age for a chicken.
Calcium and vitamin D… Yep, that’s right, chickens take supplements too. The clever guys and gals in white coats explain that a chicken’s shell comprises of 90% calcium, so if indeed the bird itself is lacking in the vital minerals, it will in turn pass this deficiency on to the ovum. As vitamin D is vital for the absorption of this calcium, it’s important to see why this would also need to be in fresh supply.
Age being the other main factor. Personally, it’s always been rude to ask an “old bird” what her age is; however, apparently when it comes to our eggs, these are the questions we need to be asking. Fun fact: as a chicken ages, its egg gets bigger, although this growth is in the ovum itself and not the calcium capsule that it’s so neatly packed in. The egg itself remains the same size, this resulting in microscopic thinner shell wall capacity over time, with the average age of the commercial egg-laying chicken normally peaking at two for this ‘egg’sact reason.
So if this is such big business, why is it there has been such a significant shift in the strength of the shells? Well, business really… and not for the usual profit-driven madness that one would come to expect from the big coops! In fact, there is actually a great video from one of my favourite people to follow over on YouTube at the moment, Johnny Harris. In the video, he looks to break down the economics behind the rise in food prices over in the US, to which he goes in depth to all the scandals involved in price hiking and the names behind it.
My conclusion…
It turns out that those birds should have been taking their vitamins all along, with the most logical explanation to our problem being the most recent outbreak of avian flu. You see, it turns out it’s not just humanity that gets forced to work for longer as the result of a crisis within the race; birds do too!
With farmers being forced to destroy large numbers of flock due to infection, this has in turn led to our feathered friends having to put a little more of a shift in. I’m sure the hens themselves would be thankful of the fact, as I doubt there is much on the horizon once they have been presented with their P45, yet with the average retirement age reaching seventy-two months, we are bound to receive the odd soft egg from one of our veterans. What’s the solution? Well, if I’m honest, I don’t think there is going to be a significant shift back in the other direction by industry, especially now the standards have adjusted somewhat, and the consumers have accepted these moves.
Also, I don’t feel it’s that much of an issue that we need to stage a revolt and throw out the profit-hungry wolves. Upon honest reflection, for me, maybe I will be a little more conscious to where I purchase my eggs in the future. I’m lucky enough to be positioned in a wonderful part of the UK, where I have unfiltered access to fresh produce, farmers’ honesty boxes, and countless unmanned “free-range” egg-dispensing stalls. This giving me no excuse to buy nothing but ethical eggs that carry a good retirement plan.
The difference in these eggs is noticeable, with the picture above taken from my kitchen to represent this. I mean, you could always look to alter your style, possibly move to the edge of a butter knife as opposed to the edge of the bowl. However, if, like me, you can get past the fact all your eggs will be slightly different in colour, shape, and cleanliness, then I suggest making the switch… Then, and only then, may you enjoy a perfect crack like this… and yes, it was unbelievably satisfying.
