to document in taste tests; see p 87.) In addition, mass husbandry has played a role in the rising incidence of salmonella contamination “Spent” hens are often recycled into feed for the next generation of layers, so that salmonella infection is readily spread by careless processing Finally, there is a more difficult question: whether we can enjoy good, cheap eggs more humanely, without reducing descendents of the spirited jungle fowl to biological machines that never see the sun, scratch in the dust, or have more than an inch or two to move Freer Range? Enough people have become uncomfortable with the excesses of industrialization, and willing to pay a substantial premium for their eggs, that smaller-scale, “free-range” and “organically fed” laying flocks have made a comeback in the United States and Europe Swiss law now requires that all hens in that country have free access to the outdoors The term “free-range” can be misleading; it sometimes means only that the chickens live in a slightly larger cage than usual, or have brief access to the outdoors Still, with people eating fewer eggs in the home, spending so little on those eggs, and paying more attention to what they eat, the odds are good that this modest deindustrialization of the egg will continue Egg Biology and Chemistry How the Hen Makes an Egg The egg is so familiar that we seldom remember to marvel at its making All animals work hard at the business of reproduction, but the hen does more than most Her “reproductive effort,” defined as the fraction of body weight that an animal deposits daily in her potential offspring, is ... Still, with people eating fewer eggs in the home, spending so little on those eggs, and paying more attention to what they eat, the odds are good that this modest deindustrialization of the egg will continue Egg Biology and Chemistry... Egg Biology and Chemistry How the Hen Makes an Egg The egg is so familiar that we seldom remember to marvel at its making All animals work hard at the business of reproduction, but the hen does more than...access to the outdoors The term “free-range” can be misleading; it sometimes means only that the chickens live in a slightly larger cage than usual, or have brief access to the outdoors Still, with people eating fewer eggs