Chickens and Eggs: White vs Brown

Growing up in the US, white eggs were all I knew and they demanded mandatory refrigeration. At Easter, I loved colouring them. It was a bit challenging at times making holes in the shell and blowing out the innards, however it was worth the effort as there was great satisfaction dipping these small blank canvases into pots of different coloured food dyes and seeing the surprising creative results.

When I moved to the UK in the latter half of the 1990s there was not one white egg to be found. Also, to my initial horror, I discovered that eggs were not refrigerated. I learnt to accept this and thus far, touch wood, have never been stricken with salmonella.

So why white eggs and refrigeration in the States, and brown eggs stacked on open supermarket shelves in the UK? It all comes down to the types of chickens and processing.

Of the estimated thirty-three billion chickens in the world, there are hundreds of different breeds.

In the US, the most popular chickens for meat are a cross breed between Cornish hens and Plymouth Rocks. Hybrid White Leghorns are the most popular breed for egg laying, producing the bright white eggs that I was so familiar with in my early life.

In the UK, chickens raised for meat in factory farm sheds are typically Cobb 500, Ross 308 and the Hubbard Flex – sadly dubbed the ‘Frankenchickens’ because of so many abnormalities like being so fat their legs can’t support their bodies.

Popular UK breeds producing brown eggs include Bovans Brown, ISA Brown, Lohmann Brown and the Novogen.

Until the 1970s, white eggs were popular in the UK, then fell out of fashion. Preferences are attributed to numerous factors including cultural perceptions, marketing and branding, consumer preferences and production practices to name a few.

As the brown egg has been the norm for decades, consumers were again reintroduced to the whites during the pandemic due to stock shortages. Since then, they have been on the rise with many major British retailers supplying them due to changes in poultry management requirements (i.e. beak treatment) and consideration to sustainability (carbon footprint impact). Some of the white egg producing breeds are now more suitable to raise under new legislation. As in the States, the Leghorn is a popular breed.

Production methods are different between the two countries affecting storage requirements. In the States, eggs are washed stripping them of their natural protective coating, the ‘bloom’ or ‘cuticle’. The eggs become porous and thus, it is important to refrigerate them so bacteria can’t grow and penetrate the vulnerable shell.

Also, the current federal rules do not require vaccination of hens against Salmonella (they do require testing). Major retailers have implemented their own mandates on their suppliers in regards to vaccination, however they do vary.

In the UK and most other countries, the washing of eggs is prohibited. Therefore, the coating remains on the shells and eggs are seen as protected from bacteria.

In addition, since 1998 the British Lion Quality mark (shown above) guarantees that eggs have been laid by British hens vaccinated against Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium.

Over 90% of eggs sold in the UK carry this mark. Although refrigerating eggs in this part of the world is not critical, storing in a cool place is recommended.

And now to throw in something completely different and a bit of fun regarding chickens. Several years ago I visited the Rubber Chicken Museum in Seattle. Fun fact: It has the world’s largest and smallest rubber chicken.

The Rubber Chicken Museum

at Archee McPhee

will put a smile on your face
a must see and it’s free

rubber chickens galore
in all shapes and sizes

some smartly dressed
in familiar disguises

like Santa Claus suits
although most of them be

naked as jaybirds
with no modesty

some of them squeak
some are printed on towels

they all tell the tale
of this funny old fowl

yes the Rubber Chicken Museum
at Archee McPhee

will put a smile on your face
a must see and it’s free

Thanks for reading.
Kate J

Sources

Archie McPhee, 2025. Rubber Chicken Museum. https://archiemcpheeseattle.com/rubber-chicken-museum/ Accessed 16 January. 

Egg Info, 2025. British Lion Eggs. https://www.egginfo.co.uk/british-lion-eggs Accessed 12 January. 

Humane League, 2025. How many chickens are in the world and the us. https://thehumaneleague.org/article/how-many-chickens-are-in-the-world Accessed 12 January 

Poultry News, 2025. White turn. https://www.poultrynews.co.uk/production/white-turn.html Accessed 12 January 2025. 

Quora, 2025. Poultry: How did brown eggs become a standard market choice over white ones in the UK? https://www.quora.com/Poultry-How-did-brown-eggs-become-a-standard-market-choice-over-white-ones-in-the-UK Accessed 12 January 2025. 

Statista, 2025. Number of chickens worldwide. https://www.statista.com/statistics/263962/number-of-chickens-worldwide-since-1990/#:~:text=How%20many%20chickens%20are%20in,13.9%20billion%20chickens%20in%202000 Accessed 12 January.

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Olive - Peace Offering

The olive plant, a small, attractive tree cultivated in Mediterranean countries for the fruit and the manufacture of olive oil which is a core ingredient of Mediterranean cuisine. Species of the plant are also grown in South Africa, South America and southern states of USA, Australia and New Zealand. Olives are a popular food and the versatile properties of olive oil make it useful medically and essential in cooking.

I can’t remember the exact circumstances in which I first tried an olive, but I know I was no more than thirteen. The taste was unbearable and I couldn’t remove it from my mouth quick enough. Many years later, I thought they might be more appealing to my mature palate. Nothing had changed.

My husband likes olives. I nearly poisoned him once. I bought one of those prepared chicken and chopped vegetable packs designed for busy people or lazy ones like me. They are ready to drop into a slow cooker with some water and a stock cube and hours later, dinner is ready, voila. This one included olives which I took out straight away before cooking. I didn’t want my chicken casserole tainted. My husband enjoyed the snack. For someone, me, who is meticulous about food safety and food hygiene, this was a really stupid thing to do which went right over my head until it was too late. The olives were with raw chicken. I was horrified at my own carelessness, though, to be fair, he didn’t bat an eyelid either at the time. Fortunately, he was fine, perfectly alright and after a few days I stopped revising symptoms of salmonella et al and beating myself up. I should have offered him an olive branch.

In the Bible, an olive branch, symbol of reconciliation and peace offering was carried to Noah by a dove to show that the flood was over.

A sign of peace it might be, but I don’t have to like the taste of its fruit. Even if the nutrition value was full of everything I need, it would be a no.

With acknowledgement and apologies to Theodor Seuss Geisel, Dr Seuss, for inspiration and whose books and rhymes I have enjoyed to share with lots of children,

I am Pam, Pam I am.
I think I’d like green eggs and ham.
I will not eat an olive.

I will not take it from the jar
I will not taste it from afar,
I will not eat an olive.

Not even on a cocktail stick
I will not try a tiny lick,
I will not eat an olive.

Do not hide it on my pizza
Or tuck it in my fajita,
I will not eat an olive.

I will not choose one from a dish,
I will not have it in a quiche,
I will not eat an olive.

I am Pam, Pam I am,
I would like some salad and spam.
Do not bring me an olive.


PMW 2021

Thanks for reading, Pam x

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Games people play - how high are the stakes?

They play a lot of games in politics.  No where in the world are more games played than in the corridors of power. 

They play games with us - the electorate.  They write a comprehensive manifesto - so compelling that we believe in what they promise and we tootle off to the Polling Station at the crack of dawn, on our way to work, to put our cross beside their name. Then when they are elected, they completely ignore reasons for their election, they change the boundaries, to make sure they are re-elected and start jetting off around the world, to promote our wonderful country and our interests, while spending our hard-earned money on luxury hotles, room service and extra-marital affairs.  We used to give them security of tenure for three years and then at least we could kick them out for lying - oops sorry, playing games with us - but the clever buggers changed the law, so now they are in for another five years. 

Meanwhile, our children run up £30k plus student debt trying better themselves; the elderly , who were promised that they could keep more of the savings that they have worked for all their lives are still forced to sell their homes and die virtually penniless in sub-standard, care homes and disabled people are committing suicide  because they are being forced to look for work in a dog- eat-dog world, where the legal requirement to make 'Reasonable Adjustments' is a myth and the reality is that employers will always chose a healthy, young worker over someone with a neck injury who needs an expensive chair, a different mouse and two days a year to rest after spinal injections. Politics is the mother of 'Games People Play.'

They play games with the opposition. We hear them, braying like donkeys across the floor of the house. They don't actually debate the crucial issues affecting our economy, the state of our welfare services, the education and future of our children.  No they mud-sling at each other like kids in the playground, wasting the time we pay them for, on nonsense. 

They play games with other members of their own party too.  It is alleged that these games often take place during 'Conference.'   My poem (slightly changed from the original) was commission by The Imperial Hotel, Blackpool, where many Conservative and Labour Party members have stayed during conference weeks. When I use the inclusive pronoun 'ours' - I speak for the hotel. 

Currie, Egg and Chips
Edwina Currie, friend of Thatcher,
cracked British egg manufacture,

crowing, “ Salmonella’s running rife,”

falling foul of every farmer and his wife.
 

As the Minister for Health,

she caused a plummet in their wealth,
when she was overheard to quip,
'Northerners die of ignorance and chips.'

When winter struck the weak and old,
she said, “Long Johns keep out the cold.”
Soon mass public consternation
forced her into resignation.

A woman scorned is fury’s hell.
Edwina wrote her 'kiss and tell',
revealing shifty shades of Grey:
a no holds barred sex expose.

Affair with married Major John,

Edwina with suspenders on

swept through corridors of power

and may have even crept through ours.

A wily bird, she caught the worm,
she made her former colleagues squirm.
Egg on their face, she licked her lips.
Edwina Currie had her chips!

Now she’s always in the news,
voicing her outspoken views,
She made her game show debut
on 'Have I Got News for You'.

Then she kicked up Strictly heels,
tried sweating over Ramsey's meals. 
Last year she jetted off to be 
a 'Get Me Out of Here’ celebrity.

Edwina just won't go away,
It's just the game she loves to play. 

 

Thanks for reading.  Adele
 

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