David Cisneros grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and currently resides in Glendora. He has five children. David was an exuberant speaker as he told our club all about eggs. He is an egg farmer. He is in the egg business. He is employed by Moark, located in Fontana, Ca. This company was founded in 1957 and is associated with Land O Lakes, a popular dairy name. If you were shopping for a dozen eggs, and you wanted the best, you would buy EGG-LAND’S BEST. The package tells the consumer that these eggs are “Farm Fresh” , “Quality EB” and a gold seal stating “Superior Taste”.
Their marketing egg production is 24 million laying hens. This is the 2nd largest franchise of Eggland’s Best Eggs and they are the largest licensee of Land O Lakes products.
It was said, not so long ago, that egg yokes were almost as bad for your heart as smoking. However, the Good Egg Project Organization came along and they stated that they took great pride in their chickens. For comparison they commented that “The 57 Chevy had no seat belts, poor gas mileage, no air bags and lastly no computers”. (How times have changed)
In 1940 one egg farmer fed 19 people. He did so by keeping the chickens inside a chicken coupe and the farmer could control their diet better. Prior to this the chickens were outside and would roam freely and eat almost anything, thus the egg product was of a poorer food source. Currently, 2% of the U.S. population lives on a farm and produces food for 98% of the population. Changes and advancements have been driven by the need to feed the growing population. The egg farmer today is more productive along with the fact that the feed that is provided is much improved.
An egg journey starts….as the chicken lays an egg, it flows from the barn onto a conveyer belt. Each egg is looked at and washed. A computer can dedect if the egg has a small crack or has a defect. The larger eggs are from older hens. The eggs are sorted and packed and shipping is done through refrigerated trucks.
There are several types of chickens and the most popular are the 1. Caged, 2. Caged Free 3. Aviaries 4. Free Range. The Free Range are the most expensive to buy. The safest eggs are bought at the leading grocery stores, such as; Ralphs, Vons, etc. Do not buy eggs where they are advertised for a very low price. The cost in raising hens is in the feed. It is two/thirds the cost in the raising of a hen. Hens now receive hormones. White hens produce white egg shells and brown shell color comes from brown hens. Iowa produces the most eggs and the state of Ohio is next. California produces 19 million eggs.
In 2008, a new California law was passed in Proposition 2. This new law goes into effect this year. It calls for regulations on how much space each hen must have. Their little bodies and wing span must not touch another hen. David said it was pretty hard to train the hens to all turn at the same time so that they would not bump into each other. The vote outcome for this proposition was Yes 63% and No 37%. This new regulation has so many new rules that a lot of the egg farmers have moved to other states.
Moark Company has looked into building a new facility and incorporating the new laws but the cost to create and build would be over 200 million dollars. They are looking to relocate in Arizona.
As he ended his talk there were questions from the club. Rate of laying= 100 chickens produce 84% of daily use. Organic hens eat organic foods, thus the selling price is nearly always higher. Otherwise, they are the same eggs, just a different process. Moark eggs are more nutritious as they have less cholesterol and are vegetarian fed hens. Layer hens last about two years. The sell date on egg cartons. Don’t throw eggs away. Eggs last three to four months longer than the sell date. The eggs, as they age, can be used in baking..
One club member asked David “what are the perks in your job?” His reply “3 eggs per night”.
This was an interesting talk, full of good humor plus excellent learning about the egg industry. His last remark, “I brought 30 dozen eggs, but by the numbers in this crowd I don’t think I brought enough.”
Thank you David for your most interesting talk and for the eggs.
(Phyllis Corliss)