Organic Eggs in a (Nut)Shell
A Pocket Guide to Organic Eggs and Chicken Farming in Germany
01.04.2021
By Tatiana Valyaeva
Supervisor: Dr. Gesa Lüdecke
With the shocking evidence of the often dire conditions in which laying hens and broilers are raised, there is a growing awareness that we need to change our buying behavior. Organic poultry products allegedly guarantee cruelty-free eggs and chicken meat. But how to navigate through the eclectic–and often opaque–product ranges available on the German market?
This pocket guide sheds light on this complex market by providing concise and clear information. The first part introduces the key issues and initiatives in organic poultry farming along the three trajectories of animal welfare, transparency, and sustainable practice. In the second part, three small-scale organic farmers with innovative concepts to raise happy chickens offer insights into their work and motivation.
This project was supported by the Faculty of Language and Literature Studies of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, via the Lehre@LMU (Qualitätspakt Lehre) grant. Many thanks to Dr. Gesa Lüdecke, who supervised this research project.