What's up with the egg shortage? There are a few conspiracy theories.

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February 3, 2023

As you most likely already know, there’s an egg shortage right now. But why is this happening? Well, this Twitter thread from a few days ago gives us some insight into the many conspiracy theories behind the issue.

One theory is that Bill Gates flooded Africa with vaccinated chickens a decade ago. In turn, that caused the avian flu pandemic last year.

To my knowledge, mRNA vaccines are being considered by the USDA, but I haven’t heard of any farms that are actually using them. It might be true that mRNA vaccines have been tested in animals. But, I have no evidence as to where this is happening, at what scale, and the results of these trials.

But, I guess my knowledge would, of course, be limited on this topic. None of our naturally minded farms routinely vaccinate. And, our farm (and the farms we work with) 100% say no to mRNA vaccines.

Another theory is avian flu. It’s true that flocks in the US were ravaged by this disease in 2022, and this likely affected egg supply dramatically. But let’s be clear - the issue was in big ag, not with small natural farmers like us.

With conventional egg farming (even cage-free or organic), chickens are kept indoors in mega structures housing 10,000 or 100,000 chickens. If a disease like avian flu gets into one of those buildings, it’s pretty awful. Just like any disease, indoor spread is a quick thing, but outdoor spread is rare. In most cases, the farmer must kill ALL of the chickens in that building. This is why big ag loves vaccines.

The sudden disappearance of so many laying hens can have a huge effect on egg supply. Chickens don’t start laying eggs until they are about 6 months old. It really takes about 10 months for them to be “good” layers, laying a normal size egg once a day. Switching to a new flock needs to be planned. It’s not something that a farmer can make happen overnight.

The sudden disappearance of millions of chickens would make grocery stores short. And what do consumers do in response? They start buying from small farms like us. But, in turn, this makes us short on eggs. After all, no farmer can magically create a new laying flock overnight!

Our farms thankfully didn’t have an issue with avian flu. Yes, they were wary of it and took precautions. But, when birds are raised naturally outdoors, with plenty of exercise and foraging and eating a high quality corn & soy free feed, there’s little worry about disease.

Another theory is that the problem is stemming from the chicken feed.

Big farms, small farms, and households have reported that their chickens mysteriously stopped laying eggs around fall of last year. From what I can see, everyone affected sourced their feed from huge commercial suppliers. When they switched to a different feed or fed kitchen scraps or let the birds forage, they started laying eggs again.

This first hand anecdotal evidence really makes me wonder - what was in that feed!? We may never know.

What I do know is that our chickens didn’t have this problem. Sure, chickens naturally lay less in the winter, since there’s less sun. But, there wasn’t a dramatic drop or halt in production.

It also makes me really thankful for our farming haven in Lancaster County. We have access to a large network of small farmers and suppliers, many who focus on more natural practices. We are lucky that our chicken feed is mixed locally and comes from as many local growers as possible.

There are other theories, too.

A manufactured food shortage, the agenda towards plant-based, a media campaign to create fear around disease and increase support of vaccines, gain-of-function research, vaccination through food, globalism... the list goes on and on. We may never know the "truth".

Although we may never know the exact cause(s) of the egg shortage, it's real and we need to deal with it. Here’s what we’re doing.

Eggs will be in and out of stock for probably the next couple months.

--> We are prioritizing our eggs for subscription customers.

This is how we’ve always advertised Subscribe & Save. Subscription customers get priority on our inventory. This hasn’t been a real perk until now. When eggs are available, you are welcome to sign up for a subscription :)

**--> For new orders, we are limiting the number of chicken eggs you can purchase to 3 dozen per customer.**

The purpose is to prevent panic buying. If you already have a larger amount of chicken eggs on your subscription, we will fulfill it.

--> We are collecting eggs from other local farmers and selling “Community Eggs”.

They’re not necessarily “egg farmers” in a wholesale kind of way, but they are local homesteads and farms that have laying hens. We can guarantee that the eggs are all GMO-free. But, besides that, they all live different lifestyles and are fed different feeds.

--> We have plenty of Corn & Soy Free DUCK EGGS. And by plenty I mean A LOT! This is your chance to give duck eggs a try!!

Yes, duck eggs are about 20% more expensive than our chicken eggs. But, keep in mind that duck eggs are about 50% larger. So, it’s actually a deal!

Duck eggs are delicious, very similar in taste to a chicken egg. And, they’re packed with more nutrition and some say they’re better for baking. You can learn more about the difference between duck eggs and chicken eggs here.

What’s your theory on the egg shortage? What do you think about our solutions?

I’d love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - start typing for the guest option to appear) or contact us.

Opinion

Farming Practices

Our bone broth tested negative for heavy metals 🥳 NATURAL AND CLEAN

Over the past few months a bunch of people asked us if we tested our bone broth for toxic heavy metals. When we get the same question a lot, we of course look into it. My first question was --- Is there an issue with toxic metals in bone broth? As it turns out, yes, there "can" be an issue! Heavy metals are naturally present in our environment. We need the "good" heavy metals to thrive: iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, etc. But, we can 100% do without the toxic heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, etc. Too many toxic heavy metals can lead to a host of pretty awful issues: nervous system damage, cardiovascular issues, cancer, endocrine disruption, kidney damage, and so on. Our body is designed to excrete heavy metals through urine (and a little bit through sweat, hair, and breastmilk too)... but only so much. There's a limit. If you're overloaded, your body will store those heavy metals in your bones, blood, tissues, and organs. Similarly, if an animal is exposed to heavy metals via food, water, air, dust, or soil, those heavy metals accumulate in the bones. Maybe the farm's soil or air is contaminated from a nearby factory. Maybe the pipes for the water has lead solder connecting them. Maybe the feed a farm is buying was grown on contaminated soil or processed on contaminated equipment. And, of course, a main purpose of bone broth is drawing out as much as possible from the bones. If there are heavy metals in bones, they will make their way into the broth. This is especially true when you pre-soak with apple cider vinegar and simmer for 48 hours to make it thick and gelatinous (like our broth). And that led me to my second question --- Should I be concerned about every bone broth? Where is the fear coming from? Well... it seems it might be a little political. There was a study done in the UK in 2013 that scared a lot of people. It's titled "The Risk of Lead Contamination in Bone Broth Diets". This study found high levels of lead in organic chicken bone broth, which is quite concerning. And, in fact, this one study is still cited in articles written today! Let's dig a little deeper. Let's go farther than the short abstract. Here are the broths tested in the study and their test results for lead: (9.5 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus skin and cartilage(7.01 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus bones(2.3 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus meat(0.89 parts per billion): Tap water alone cooked for the same amount of time as a control. But, they only used organic chicken from one farm. And, there's zero information about that farm, their practices, the feed, and the broth recipe. Did they use vinegar or wine in the broth? Was the chicken's water contaminated with lead? What was the quality of the feed and the soil? Were the chickens raised indoors or outdoors? So many unanswered questions! All we get is that it was one "organic chicken" that created a lead issue with broth. Another curious thing is that the broth with skin and cartilage contained more lead than the broth made with just bones. Bones are where lead is stored, so why wouldn't the broth made with bones only contain more lead? It's an odd result. Moreover, the abstract of the study specifically called out "bone broth diets" like GAPS and paleo. They even go so far as to write, "In view of the dangers of lead consumption to the human body, we recommend that doctors and nutritionists take the risk of lead contamination into consideration when advising patients about bone broth diets." That's quite curious. Why are they worried about these diets? Are the researchers anti healing through food? Who funded the research? Is it political? My opinion? This study is not comprehensive. It does not speak to all bone broths. But it does cover a potential issue if the water or animals are overloaded with heavy metals. What I glean from this study is that we need more research. We don't need fear to spread and people to stop drinking broth from this one study. Regardless of whether the fear was fabricated or legit, we tested our bone broth anyway. After all, it's always nice to validate that your food choices are as clean as you think. For Miller's, here were my concerns before testing: What if there's mercury in the fishmeal in our chicken feed?What if the soil that our animals live on is contaminated?What is the well water that the broth is made with is contaminated?What if the Celtic sea salt has lots of heavy metals? As it turns out, my fears were thankfully unfounded. Our bone broth tested NEGATIVE for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury 🥳 🥳 🥳 You can find the test results right here! You'll notice that, for every sample, the results are "<0.01 mg/kg" and "<0.02 mg/kg". I asked the lab what the "<" means. They said that it indicates their limit of quantitation (LOQ), the lowest concentration that can be accurately tested using the test procedure in that sample type. So the results simply report that none of the metals tested were found in the sample above the specific reporting LOQs. Whether or not they were present below this LOQ is information that is not provided by the test. It's also important to note that a "mg/kg" is the same as a part per billion (ppb). It means that our broths contain less than 0.02 ppb of arsenic and lead and less than 0.01 ppb of cadmium and mercury. I don't think a lower LOQ is needed. I mean, I think we can say it's basically zero. What about you? For some reference, the EPA says that less than 15 ppb of lead is safe in drinking water. Not saying that I agree, but it's a good reference point. FYI ---> We also tested our ground beef, and it was negative. Why test ground beef? Because if there was an issue with the broth, I wanted to identify right away if meat was an issue too. We of course do not want to give out food contaminated with toxic heavy metals! We'd take immediate action is that were the case. You know what this also means? Someone asked recently about the fishmeal in our chicken feed. Given that fish nowadays can have high mercury content, they were worried about mercury in our eggs and chicken. Since our fishmeal is made from sardines, a small fish that doesn't have time to accumulate mercury, I wasn't overly concerned. But now with these results, I'm definitely not concerned about mercury in our chicken products! If it's not in the bones and the broth, then it's pretty safe to say that it's not in the eggs or the meat. Do you worry about toxic metals (or other junk) in your food? Where have your fears stemmed from? I'd love to hear from you. You can comment below (no account required) or contact us 😊 ----- Sources The risk of lead contamination in bone broth dietsBone Broth and Lead Toxicity: Should You Be Concerned?Bone Broth and Lead Contamination: A Very Flawed Study in Medical HypothesesBone Broth, Collagen, and Toxic Metals: A Research Review

Celebrating the Heritage of Corn on National Popcorn Lovers Day

You've probably heard a lot about GMO corn and its controversies, but did you know that corn, or maize as many Native Americans call it, is a cherished heritage food? Let's take a closer look at corn and learn about its history.

If animals eat wheat, does the gluten transfer to the eggs and meat?

We've been getting this question a good amount lately --- If your chickens and pigs eat wheat, which contains gluten, then do your eggs, chicken, and pork contain gluten, too? Super interesting question. I mean, the saying "you are what you eat" holds true to some extent. But... digestion is the opposite of simple. The short answer is --- Gluten in animal feed does NOT transfer to eggs or meat. Eggs are meat are naturally gluten-free. You see, just like you, when an animal eats gluten, the gluten is broken down into amino acids during digestion. Then, those amino acids are reassembled into a variety of things that support life and growth - proteins, hormones, neurotransmitters, etc. We have anecdotal evidence, too. There are many Miller's customers with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivities that handle our eggs, chicken, and pork without any issues. In fact, some say that our eggs and meat are the only they can tolerate - wow! A little caveat --- cross contamination. Here are two scenarios: What if a butcher uses products on meat or surfaces that contain gluten? I mean the list of approved sanitizers is loooong. This isn't a worry with our foods. Our eggs and chicken only ever touch water. And our pork is washed in organic apple cider vinegar.Can gluten be added to foods like sausages or pies or lunchmeat? Yes. Some baking sodas and spice blends contain gluten. And some trace ingredients (that don't need to be on the label) like maltodextrin or modified food starch may contain gluten. This isn't a worry with our foods. We try to keep things as pure as possible. Intolerances and sensitivities can be complicated. Some people react to parts of gluten, not the whole molecule. During digestion, gluten is broken down into peptides in your intestinal tract. Then, those peptides are broken down into amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of life. They're reassembled (with other things like broken down vitamins and minerals) into important stuff that your body needs - proteins, tissue, enzymes, hormones. People with confusing (and sometimes inconsistent) reactions might be having a reaction to a specific peptide or part of a molecule. It might now be the whole molecule that's giving you trouble! That's why many people with gluten sensitivity do fine with sourdough and/or einkorn (in fact, we even have a customer with Celiac disease that loves our sourdough einkorn crackers). Sourdough partially digests the gluten for you and possibly changes the way your body breaks it down. And einkorn is a heritage grain that contains a completely different kind of gluten compared to conventional wheat - gluten AA. There's actually a certain test you can take to give you more info. It's called a Zoomer test. Instead of simply seeing if you're reacting to a whole protein, it sees how your body responds to individual peptides. Neat! Or maybe people aren't reacting to wheat itself. Rather, they're reacting to chemicals sprayed on wheat. Many people with gluten sensitivity go to Europe and eat all the bread. Why is this? Well, maybe it's because glyphosate is banned in Europe. But here in the US, we're still spraying it on conventional wheat to dry it out quickly and get it ready for harvest. It could be that some people are reacting to a chemical on wheat... not the wheat itself. I mean, glyphosate is known for disrupting the gut! This could explain why some people don't do well with some eggs and meat but do just fine with ours. After all, we have the highest natural standards and aim to give you the purest food possible, down to the nitty gritty. What have you experienced? Are you sensitive or allergic to gluten but can handle eggs and meat? How do our eggs and meat feel for you? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - just start typing) or contact us 😊 ----- Sources Are Eggs From Grain-Fed Chickens Safe to Eat on a Gluten-Free Diet?Zoomers Food Sensitivity Testing 101: Your Path to Food Sensitivity AwarenessIs RoundUp Giving You a Pain in the Gut?