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By Little Mummy, December 31, 2007 1:58 pm

In 2008 my family will begin to experiment in recycling, growing our own produce, reducing our energy consumption, perhaps becoming a little greener, more organic, and hopefully more self-sufficient.

Most of us know of the awful reality of caged egg-laying hens. Back in November after a bit of research I decided that the time had come to move to barn eggs, this month after further reading we have moved to free-range eggs. I wanted to offer a quick run down of the information I have gleaned whilst making the decision for my family.

There seems to be four categories, eggs from caged hens, eggs from hens that reside in a barn, free-range eggs, and finally organic eggs. Here’s a brief description of the conditions for each type of bird;

Caged

Hens are housed in stacked cages with the equivalent of an A4 sheet of paper in which to move around. The warehouses are usually without windows and the birds have no access to outside space. Caged hens produce 66% of the UK’s eggs.

Barn

Hens can roam around their barn but are not let outside, they are provided with perches, platforms, nestboxes and litter areas. Birds can share a barn with up to 16,000 others. 7% of eggs produced come via the barn system.

Free-Range

Birds are kept in barns with outdoor range space available for a minimum of eight hours a day. 27% of the UK’s eggs are free-range.

Organic

Hens producing organic eggs are always free range, they are fed an organic diet.

Price of Eggs

Eggs from Caged Hens (pack of 6) – £0.73

Eggs from hens reared in Barns (pack of 6) – £1.12

Free-Range Eggs (pack of 6) – £1.28

Organic Eggs (pack of 6) – £1.75

All prices are for medium eggs and are taken from a leading supermarket beginning with ‘T’

So there we have all the information required to make a direct comparison. As you would expect the price of the eggs increase as the conditions for the hens improve. The caged hens produce the cheapest eggs, free range hens are the most expensive and organic is really in another choice bracket altogether. The organic egg producing hens enjoy the same lifestyle as the free range hens and the only difference is the organic feed and organic land where they reside.

On learning of the awful conditions of caged hens, I decided that we could afford the move to barn eggs. We eat a box or less of eggs a week and that meant the difference was around 38p a week, or less. On first glance the price difference does seem fairly large (relatively) however when you look at the difference in living conditions I feel it is justified. This month whilst doing the weekly shop I was surprised to find that free range eggs were only 12p more than the barn eggs. We have now moved to free range, 12p is a small amount to pay to know that the food we are eating has come from an animal that has enjoyed as normal and comfortable a life as possible.

I expect to be making these decisions on a fairly regular basis over the next year as I investigate the benefits of living a greener, more sustainable and organic lifestyle. The dilemmas will come when we start to talk in pounds rather than pennies. Balancing the budget with the ethics is going to be an interesting challenge, but for now, the decision is pretty easy, a few pence more for a substantially superior product is going to get a yes every time.

Which eggs do you buy? Is your decision based on ethics, price, or both?

Information sources;

http://www.vegansociety.com/html/animals/exploitation/hens.php

Photo by flickr user LynnInSingapore

Comments (12)

By Little Mummy, December 29, 2007 7:52 am

I don’t really make strict resolutions as such, more thoughts and hopes for the new year and reflections on the year gone by.

2007

2007 was a good year for us, we settled into parenting and have enjoyed seeing Erin turn into a happy and lively toddler. After a fairly drastic change in career direction Alex has taken to bus driving like a duck to water, it’s nice to see him enjoying his work so much especially as he is the only real earner at the moment. I completed the maths course and have applied for an open learning degree in social science. However the biggest event of the year was definitely moving house and we are looking forward to the coming year, settling in and getting involved in village life.

Littlemummy in 2007

My posting on the blog has been a little sporadic at times, even still it has grown to encompass over 470 posts. Visitor levels are well into three figures daily, and I currently earn around £60/$120 a month, which is a nice bonus.

2008

Here are few plans for 2008;

Going Green – Like many others, 2008 will be the year we try our hand at growing our own produce, moving to some organic alternatives, reducing our energy consumption, recycling and reusing.

Money – With the current financial climate and concerns over a recession, it’s particularly on topic to take a closer look at our finances. For the first time we will be budgeting via a spreadsheet system and we plan to implement some money saving techniques from America’s Cheapest Family.

Parenting – 2008 should be the year when Erin and I can really start to flex our creative muscles, she’ll be two in February. Stand by for crafts, recipes and new activities.

Education - Learning new skills and theory is a big part of who I am and 2008 will be my biggest challenge yet, and I’m a little nervous. A (relatively) basic maths course is one thing, committing to double figure study time a week is another. The range of discussion points the course will throw up should make for some interesting blog fodder though.

Health – An odd subject to put in? Not really, I have crohns, and if I’m honest there’s a lot more I could be doing to ensure my own wellbeing. In 2008 I’m going to really make a habit of taking my medication (everyday!), take multivitamins and iron, take more care to eat regularly, reduce my caffeine intake (not good for crohns) take more time to relax – in this case stress can be a real killer, or at least a real pain!

Littlemummy in 2008

What can you expect from littlemummy in 2008:

Posts on the following – Craft, activities, recipes (especially from home grown produce), our horticultural and recycling escapades, discursives on education, parenting and current affairs, budgeting and saving money.

What are your plans for 2008? (blog and personal)

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Comments (1)

By Little Mummy, December 26, 2007 11:23 am

Aaah Boxing Day, a chance to breath (note to self: moving house at Christmas time isn’t the greatest idea)

Nevertheless we had an amazing Christmas. Erin held a Christmas Eve party, which is becoming a little tradition now, I’ll be glad when she can assist in the preparations a bit more though!

Christmas Day was far more relaxed, she seemed very pleased with Santa’s delivery, each unwrapped present was greeted with a “wow” and then a frantic dash to daddy to open/assemble/fit batteries etc.. in hindsight there were a few things we should have built first and left unwrapped for immediate playing, but hey, we’re new to this game Amongst other things she received a Vtech laptop, a keyboard with microphone (thanks Aunty Margaret), phone and answering machine, a hoover, and a beautiful Angelina book set.

My own gifts included, two books on growing and cooking home grown food (a hint at some upcoming posts at littlemummy), a creme brulee set complete with blow torch, a ticket to see Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat, along with money and vouchers.

I hope everyone has had a Happy Christmas and look forward to catching up with all the festive news.

Comments (3)

By Little Mummy, December 21, 2007 2:28 am

It’s around this time that Christmas fatigue begins to set in. Around a week (ok, so that’s 4 days now..eek) before the big day I seem to get a lull, so near but yet so far. I’ve already done a years worth of food and gift shopping yet there are always several ‘one last thing’s’ to buy. This year is no different and yesterday I braved the crazed madness of the supermarket. Shoppers were stocking up like the end of food itself was imminent, scavenging for the last of the 36 piece indian selection boxes, well ha! cos I got it.

Oh dear what’s happening to me!!

Over the tannoy they were playing Live Aid’s Feed the World, which is exactly what everyone was trying to do, by the looks of the buckling trolleys. Even Erin is feeling it, the last two days she’s done nothing but grump and moan, the wait for Santa is taking it’s toll, poor wee mite (!) While she eagerly awaits the big arrival, my husband suffers the impatient and vulturous crowds (he’s a bus driver), I still have ‘one last thing’ to get, sour cream and chive dip, for how can christmas be a success without it when I already have enough food to feed the 5000, enough alcohol to open a pub (even though I barely drink) and enough presents to keep Santa’s elves out of work for some time. Blindly, I will still be making the last minute dash to buy said dip, what a mad season this is!

Merry Christmas all, oh, and Happy New Year – when hopefully we can all get back to normal for seven months, when we can begin the whole charade again.

…………………………………………………………

Update

Just found this picture of Erin from last year, remembered exactly why we do it all. Ahhhh.

Comments (5)

By Little Mummy, December 19, 2007 2:17 pm

On Sunday we had arguably our best day out of 2007. Considering this year we’ve been to Edinburgh Zoo, Centre Parcs, Deep Sea World, Edinburgh’s Winter Wonderland (a close second?), The Botanic Gardens, The Ceramic Centre, Gorgie Farm, The Modern Art and Dean Galleries, not to mention our fair share of soft plays this is high praise indeed.

I loved the rough and readiness, it’s basically a petting farm with attractions such as a small passenger train, karting, playgrounds, soft play etc… It sits at the edge of Dunbar amongst “real” “working” farms which gives it a certain authenticity, as my mother in law pointed out it lacked some basic health and safety(nothing dangerous), however, for me, this only added to its appeal. I’m fed up of the commercialism of some attractions, not mentioning any names….cough…Edinburgh Zoo…cough, what you saw was what you got and that was good clean fun in a beautiful and spacious outdoor setting and value for money. Alex and I paid £7.50 each, Erin was free, which beats both the Zoo and Deep Sea World on price, by 25%. We visited specifically for Santa and the reindeer, Santa was great, welcoming, cheery and generous with both his gifts and time, and the reindeer were great too. We plan to revisit East Links next summer when we know that we’ll easily get a full day’s entertainment, in fact, next time we’ll be utilising their ample picnicking area as the only minus point was the cafe which, although serving nice food was a little on the small side, but then again, I wouldn’t want it any larger because thats when it loses it non-commercial appeal!

Visit East Links you won’t be disappointed

So if East Links was our best day out of 2007, which was our worst? Probably Edinburgh Zoo, click above to read the rather scathing review!!

Entered into Scribbit’s ‘My Favourite Day’ write-away contest.
Photo by flickr user Martin Burns

Comments (7)

By Little Mummy, December 11, 2007 2:51 pm

Being a younger mum (24), I still have many personal ambitions, especially on the academic and career side. Over the past few months, I’ve found myself in the sometimes difficult position of trying to balance family and parental needs with my own personal needs. I love being a stay at home mum, but there is a part of me that still requires a higher level of mental stimulation and ambition outside of being a good wife and mother. My own interests lie in pursuing further academic qualifications to enable me to move into a career which is more in keeping with my passions – children, teaching and education.

My inital plan was to return to college for one year and then do a vocational degree at university, this would have meant that my daughter would be cared for by a blend of myself, my husband, family and either a nursery or childminder. However it’s become clear that this plan is not right for us, mainly because we do not want to rely on outside care ie childminder/nursery.

Since Erin was born I have taken responsibility for the lion’s share of her care, I enjoy nurturing her and am proud that she is receiving such a lot of influence from her family and I want to see this continue. Like most women, and perhaps humans in general, I want to have my cake and eat it. I want to be a full time stay at home mum, available to take Erin to mother and toddler group and then next year to playgroup, on hand to do the school run etc.. however, I also want to ensure that when the time comes I have given myself the best possible chance of picking up a decent career in an enjoyable field.

My situation, like all parents, is constantly changing and my current solution is to attempt to gain a degree through the Open University. Their system is very flexible and all the course work can be done from home. The degree courses are split into units, with each unit having a credits value, you basically collect 360 credits for the ful degree. Of course each unit also comes at a price, around £300 for a 30 point unit and £560-£620 for a 60 point unit. Yup, it’s going to be quite expensive, although, it’s not as bad as it first seems. I receive £200 a year from ILA Scotland and apparently I am eligible for a seperate grant of up to £200 per unit (unconfirmed as yet). I’ll try an accumulate the small amount I make from this blog which should help with the balance, all in all I think it’s do-able, and at the moment seems to be the best solution all round.

I’d love to hear from anyone that has done, or is doing a degree with the Open University

Comments (8)

By Little Mummy, December 9, 2007 3:39 pm

The recycling pro’s amongst you may be thinking I’ve got muddled up with the ‘three R’s’ message, however, this is the learning curve I’m on at the moment.

We’ve gone from recycling nothing. Nothing. We literally chucked everything into (non-recycled) bin liners and heaved several loads down the four flights of stairs several times a week. Aaaah how things have changed!

We arrived at our new home to find bins strewn all over the garden in brown, green and grey. Inside, on the kitchen counter was the recycling timetable, with a colour co-ordinated calendar advising which bins would be emptied when. At first glance it seemed like a mish mash of lines and colours but it soon became clear that it basically goes blue, grey, blue, grey on alternate weeks until the summer months when the brown one is emptied every 2-3 weeks.

The blue one is for recyclables – paper, plastic (not bags), cardboard and packaging. The grey one is for other waste, the brown one is reserved for garden cuttings. There’s also an optional extra in the way of a composting bin.

I launched myself into the recycling with gusto, alloting and advising the family on the different refuse areas (a basic bin/bag system, I’m planning to purchase a three tiered refuse system very soon!) The first week was fine, this week it’s clear that we need to heavily reduce our packaging, the blue bin was full by Sunday and is not due to be emptied until Wednesday, we’re simply having to stockpile rubbish until then, when the bin will likely be filled straight away!

Time to look at reducing our packaging, here’s what I have planned, further suggestions would be greatly appreciated…

Buy in bulk – go to Costco and buy dishwasher/laundry tablets, liquid soap, shampoo etc.. in bulk.

Use our own containers – buy liquid soap, shampoo etc and decant into our own reusable containers.

Cook from scratch – pre-packaged meals are just that – packaged, and it’s taking up valuable bin space, bye bye ready meals.

Grow our own – growing our own herbs, vegetables and fruit would mean no packaging at all for a portion of our weekly food.

Buy from farm shop – purchase unpackaged ingredients from a local farm.

Comments (1)

By Little Mummy, December 8, 2007 8:32 am

Hello! Long time no speak!

After an unplanned break I’m now back in the blogosphere. The time off saw us move from our Edinburgh flat to a gorgeous (I think so anyway!) house with garden outside Edinburgh in a semi-rural location. It’s actually a very small village, the locals seem really friendly and Erin and I have already been rubbing shoulders with the mothers and toddlers at the weekly meet up.

I have lots to blog about, but I’ll ease myself in gently and leave it at that for now.

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