Sustainable farming: Carbon-neutral eggs going down a storm

Sustainable farming is a hot topic currently, and the issue of reducing the carbon footprint of our food has never been more pressing.

Historically, sustainable farming has been an activity driven by the purpose of the greater good, whether from farmers' personally or government incentives. But increasingly there is demand from the public for the provision of ethical and sustainable food production as part of their desire to reduce their own carbon impact. This has led to increasing trends toward green credentials as part of farm marketing.

This article from Poultry World looks at how marketing eggs as carbon neutral has impacted their consumer appeal.

Marketing sustainable farming through carbon-neutral eggs

Companies in the UK are at the forefront of bringing to the market carbon-neutral eggs, cutting out bought-in feed, which typically makes up more than 85% of an egg's carbon footprint.

Retailer Morrisons has launched its first lower environmental impact store in Little Clacton, Essex, which will be the first to trial the company's carbon-neutral eggs. The 320,000 free-range hens on 10 farms are being fed on insects and a supplementary diet of British beans, peas, and sunflower seeds.

It follows the announcement by Sainsbury's in the autumn that was stocking a brand of carbon-neutral eggs. Respectful eggs come from white hens which are not fed soya, with the replacement field beans milled on-site to reduce food miles required to feed the birds. White birds live 40% longer than brown hens and consume less feed, all contributing to a lower environmental impact.

The field beans and crops are directly drilled, meaning soils are not ploughed. As well as meaning fewer tractor movements, reducing fuel use, this vastly reduces soil compaction.

Meanwhile, the UK's largest free-range egg producer, Noble Foods, has announced that its Purely Organic brand has been certified carbon neutral by the Carbon Trust.

The egg brand, which is the company's fastest-growing product and is sold in Tesco and Sainsbury stores, has an 18% share of the organic egg market and new carbon-neutral branded packs will be available on supermarket shelves shortly.

Glenn Evans, Noble Foods' group environmental manager, said shoppers felt that sustainability was extremely important: "Therefore we believe it's our responsibility to take a market-leading step forward in carbon reduction, to ensure a more sustainable future for customers and producers alike."

The Carbon Trust said it was always trying to make it easier for customers to shop more sustainably: "We're happy to share that we've certified Noble Foods' Purely Organic eggs as carbon neutral," it said on Twitter.

Research by Promar International recently found that in trials total emissions per kg of eggs worked out at 3.24kg CO2/KG eggs, based on the Eggbase carbon calculator.

How can B&W help you to produce carbon-neutral eggs?

The article highlights that one of the most effective ways to reduce the carbon footprint of egg production is by reducing feed miles and using more on-farm foodstuffs. At B&W, we are experts in mobile feed milling that can be completed on farm using the food resources you have produced, reducing feed miles significantly for your chickens.

Find out more about our mobile feed milling services here, or get in touch here to check out availability.