Latest news with #PhyllisRothschild
Forbes
17-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Beyond The Carton: What Are Premium Eggs And Why Do They Matter?
Egg shortages have left consumers scrambling to find cartons on store shelves. And when eggs are in stock, shoppers are faced with higher prices, carton limits and a confusing list of labels that make it hard to decide which eggs to take home. 'I've always seen people standing in front of egg aisles looking perplexed, but now you see it more than ever,' says Phyllis Rothschild, chief marketing officer for Pete & Gerry's, the nation's top producer of organic, pasture-raised and free-range eggs. With conventional egg prices hitting record highs, more consumers are purchasing premium eggs like Pete & Gerry's. Pete & Gerry's Part of the confusion stems from the prices. Avian influenza, or bird flu, has caused prices of commodity eggs to hit record highs and, in some cases, made them more expensive than premium eggs. It's led to an increase in the number of consumers who purchase eggs with free-range, pasture-raised and organic labels. The difference between commodity eggs and premium eggs from brands like Pete & Gerry's and Nellie's Free Range Eggs is evident in the first bite. It makes consumers think, "Hey, what have I been missing my whole life? These eggs are so much better,' Rothschild says. Labels can help consumers find premium eggs in stores, but they are often hard-pressed to definitively say what they mean. Research shows that 89% of shoppers who purchased eggs with labels like natural, vegetarian-fed or farm-raised believed the claims indicated higher animal welfare standards. But these specific claims are often misleading. Rothschild suggests skipping over cartons emblazoned with the phrases 'farm raised,' 'all natural' and 'fresh' because all hens are raised on farms, and all eggs are natural and fresh. 'Vegetarian-fed' is another misleading label claim. Chickens are omnivores and want to eat bugs and worms alongside nutritious chicken feed. Cage-free is yet another misunderstood label. It can paint a picture that hens are free to roam in the grass, but Rothschild says 'these hens barely see the light of day.' 'They're not locked in a cage, but they're in very crowded, large buildings,' she says. 'They rarely even have windows.' Cage-free hens are not, in fact, free. They are housed inside large, cramped barn structures and rarely, if ever, go outdoors. Adobe Consumers who value hen welfare and premium eggs should look for eggs with 'free-range' or 'pasture-raised' labels. The U.S. Department of Agriculture regulates the use of these terms, which means that eggs labeled 'free-range' or 'pasture-raised' were laid by hens that spent time outdoors, in the sunshine, perching and dustbathing, and foraging for natural critters, Rothschild explains. The USDA organic label denotes that hens were free to roam, had access to the outdoors and ate organic diets made from feeds produced without conventional pesticides or fertilizers. Another meaningful label, Certified Humane, comes with a guarantee that hens were not raised in cages and were provided the opportunity to express their innate, instinctual behaviors, or, said differently, to act like hens. 'We were the first premium egg, so it made sense that we were going to be the first brand to be Certified Humane,' says Pete & Gerry's CEO Tom Flocco. 'This is a company that's done a lot of things first, and it's consistent with the mission and consistent with walking the talk of caring about the welfare of animals, caring about the family farm. Getting a meaningful label on your farm's eggs starts with how you raise the chickens. Pete & Gerry's partners with almost 300 family farms across 15 states in what Flocco describes as a 'very different model in terms of hen welfare.' Smaller-scale family farms are also important for egg safety during the avian influenza crisis. It's often only the family members managing their flock, and having fewer people coming on and off the farm increases biosecurity, reducing the risk that hens will become infected with the contagious, viral disease. Partnering with family farms and prioritizing hen welfare is better for the hens and better for consumers: Healthy hens lay better eggs. The Barry Family, one of Pete & Gerry's nearly 300 family farm partners. Pete & Gerry's 'You can tell in a second when an egg didn't come from a healthy hen,' says Flocco. The telltale signs: weak shells, pale yolks and runny egg whites. For consumers who purchase premium eggs, the words printed on the colorful Pete & Gerry's carton — healthy hens, healthy eggs, healthy planet — are not just marketing, but a promise. 'Hen welfare does matter, not only because it's the right thing to do but also because it makes for a better product and a better experience for you as a consumer,' Flocco says. 'You bring them home and you crack them and you eat them and you say, 'Wow, this is really different and better, and I'm not going back.''
Forbes
17-04-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Why Quality Eggs And Animal Welfare Matters More Amid The Avian Flu Crisis
Eggs on the supermarket shelves might look the same, but crack one open and the differences are obvious: Premium eggs have harder shells, brighter yolks, firmer egg whites and a superior flavor. The reason? Healthy hens. Pete & Gerry's, one of the largest premium egg producers in the country, partners with almost 300 family farms where hens can roam, scratch in the dirt, eat bugs and relax in lush pastures. There are no crowded barns and no shortcuts. At a time when avian influenza, or bird flu, is making headlines, smaller scale farms and humane practices have become even more important. Pete & Gerry's hens roam around an expansive pasture, a farming model that has helped protect hens from avian influenza. 'We've always been committed to hen welfare,' says Phyllis Rothschild, chief marketing officer for Pete & Gerry's, the nation's top producer of organic, pasture-raised and free-range eggs. 'We like to say that we were the first to do it better, and we're still doing it best.' Doing it better matters. Consumers care about where their food comes from and consider animal welfare and ethical production practices when making purchasing decisions. Embracing a family farm model and raising hens on pasture also protects birds from avian influenza. Outbreaks of the disease, which causes coughing, sneezing, lack of coordination and, often, sudden death, occur far less often in free-range and pasture-raised hens. In fact, almost 100% of avian influenza outbreaks happened at farms where chickens lived in cages or inside crowded barns. 'When we started this business … we weren't thinking about, 'This is going to be the best defense against avian flu.' We were thinking that we wanted to support family farms and that we believed in animal welfare,' explains Cameron Whitehead, chief operating officer for Pete & Gerry's. 'Our model of having family farms across 15 states and fewer hens on each farm insulates us and minimizes how avian influenza impacts us.' You don't need to look further than the colorful carton to see Pete & Gerry's commitment to hen welfare. The girls, as the company sometimes calls them, are raised in free-range or pasture-raised settings, and each family farm in the Pete & Gerry's network is third-party Certified Humane. It's a guarantee that hens were not raised in cages and given opportunities to express their natural behaviors like dustbathing, perching and roaming outdoors. The Willhide Family, one of Pete & Gerry's nearly 300 family farm partners. Including the brand's values and approach to farming on the egg cartons means consumers don't 'need to have a Ph.D. in egg terminology to go shopping in the grocery store,' Rothschild explains. 'There are segments of consumers that place a lot of value on animal welfare and egg quality,' she adds. 'They want to make sure that the claims that they're reading … translate into their own value system.' And now consumers are valuing egg safety much more as bird flu has been blamed for record-setting egg prices and bare store shelves due to limited egg supplies. 'The family farm model has been more resilient,' adds Rothschild. 'This is their family's livelihood. There's hands-on care, and there are people present with the hens all day long making sure that they're protected, both from the flu but also from any other risks that can be associated with the health of the hens.' This unwavering commitment to hen welfare and biosecurity means every time you cook a Pete & Gerry's egg, you get a safe egg and support a farming model that is better for hens, farmers and the environment — and definitely better for breakfast.
