There has been a lot about white eggs in the news recently, with Sainsbury’s announcing plans to move away from brown eggs in its own-brand range as part of its carbon reduction plans.
As you can imagine, it has created quite a debate online.
A lot of the comments we have seen have said things like “nonsense”, “greenwashing”, or “an egg is an egg”. And in one sense, people are right - a white egg and a brown egg are both simply eggs.
But there is a bit more to the story.
We have proudly supplied white eggs since 2022, and one of the reasons for that is that white-feathered hens can have a lower environmental impact than their brown-feathered friends. They are generally more efficient birds, needing less feed to produce eggs, which can help reduce the carbon footprint of egg production.
That does not mean the egg itself is “better” just because the shell is white. Shell colour is mainly down to the breed of hen. White hens usually lay white eggs, and brown hens usually lay brown eggs.
What matters far more is how those hens are reared, cared for and managed.
For us, welfare always comes first.
Although white hens can be more efficient, we do not treat that as a reason to cut corners or produce eggs as cheaply as possible. We rear our hens in smaller groups, which is more costly, but it allows us to give them better care, better attention and a better environment.
Smaller groups help us monitor the birds more closely, manage their welfare properly and maintain the standards we believe our customers expect from us.
So when people say “an egg is an egg”, we understand the point. But the farming behind that egg does make a difference.
It makes a difference to welfare.
It makes a difference to the environment.
And we believe it makes a difference to the quality of the product our customers receive.
So next time you see a white egg, don’t think of it as unusual, artificial or less natural. It is simply an egg from a different breed of hen - and when produced with the right care, it can be part of a more sustainable approach to farming.
You can buy your white eggs from one of our lovely farm shop and butcher stockists, from Ocado online or from our egg vending machine at Heart of the Country Shopping Village on the A38 nr Lichfield.
As always, thank you for supporting food produced with care, thought and proper farming values.