This is a warning…It is time to choose something better.

My great grandmother was born in 1884, she lived up to 90 years and she was a farmer’s wife. She loved to give the children the best food. Among many good things (such as handmade biscuits or homemade salami), there was always the egg, just picked up by the hens running free in an open space. That egg was fresh and healthy. The hen was fed (of course) with organic food.

Today, just a few people breed hens for their own needs and many things have changed. You go to the supermarket and, for a few cents, there are bright eggs with attractive packages that tell us so many beautiful things: the hens producing our eggs are happy to do their job, they live to be portrayed as stars.

Despite the appearance, they exist to offer cheap eggs to customers who only look for the lowest price. But these eggs are obtained from hens with very low industrial costs …. So they just know days with 20 or more hours of light, they cannot get sick and must produce a certain number of eggs per year. That is why they’re treated with antibiotics and antiparasitic agents, such as the famous Fipronil, so that industry and distribution get profits and the consumer is happy to pay low prices. Too bad that many chemicals agents have been banned because they are harmful to the man who ingests them by eating products such as eggs, meat and more.

But how do we choose our food? Who would buy eggs coming from hens treated with medicines dangerous for the internal organs such as the liver, kidneys and thyroid, causing damage to health? Nobody !

To avoid abuses caused by the greed of the industrial chain, in the EU operate many control bodies (one in each Country), with the aim to prevent the use of these banned substances. However, nearly every year, new uncontrolled dangerous foods threat the consumers. Such as the Fipronil eggs, a case involving 15 European Countries! And there are many cracks in these eggs, because (besides the retailers) there are many industrial semi-products, which are not traceable, used to produce biscuits, mayonnaise and many other foods. In a few words, sometimes there are people trying to take profit unlawfully.

How much is our health precious? The calculation is simple: if we buy 300 eggs per year saving 10 cents per egg we will have 30 euros more on our bank account ….but what about our liver?

What can we do to minimize the risk of eating harmful foods? The first suggestion is to spend more; then try to buy quality food (local or glocal). Then we can seek those producers eating what they make. They often are successful small companies with excellent food. This is possible also thanks to the web. Quality first …at home or abroad!

Brian G.B. Tonelli and Giorgio Barbero

Salva

Salva

Salva

Salva

Salva

Salva

Salva

Salva

Salva