SIZE matters right?

BHWT founder, Jane Howorth MBE, thinks it does and here’s why

Who can honestly say they don’t choose the biggest slice of cake or the biggest strawberry? Bigger equals better right? And supermarkets have done their bit too to make us feel we’re getting value for money if it’s super-sized.

But when it comes to the size of an egg, bigger is definitely not better – not for us, not for the farmer and most importantly not for the hen. So the BHWT has decided to lend voice to the important issue of size, at least when it comes to our feathery friends popping out an egg. In short, big equals eye-watering, and can result in prolapsing which is not good at all.

Did you know that a young pullet lay small eggs and as she gets older, with a bit of tinkering to her feed, she will lay increasingly larger eggs.

Supermarkets have led us to believe that big is beautiful so there’s a pressure on the egg industry to encourage birds to lay ever bigger eggs; they’re given more shelf space and sell for more. Small eggs end up as low value ‘seconds’ going into processed foods, which means less income for the farmer, despite being easier and healthier for a hen to lay.

I was recently offered the chance to get this message out to an influential audience who can help to improve hen welfare; the Guild of Food Writers, which included 40 chefs and food journalists all keen to learn more about chickens and eggs.

The solution, of course, is simple and food writers have already done a wonderful job in promoting the free range message in recipes. So this was our chance to ask them to start using small and medium free range eggs when writing about food.

Some supermarkets are already selling mixed weight eggs, Waitrose being the forerunner, and this is the best solution for hens and farmers alike, allowing hens to lay naturally and farmers to benefit regardless of size.

As with many welfare issues the ultimate influence comes from us, as consumers, and I hope you’ll help by encouraging family and friends to buy small whilst explaining why size matters.