Organic Egg Farms May Not Be as Clean as You Think

(Oct. 13) -- After a massive health crisis like the recent 550 million egg recall for salmonella (which came despite new FDA rules), many consumers may have flocked toward USDA organic hoping to find a safer, more environmentally product. But that little green sticker may not be telling you the whole story.

Two weeks ago, James McWilliams wrote in The New York Times about a number of studies suggesting that small-scale egg producers may not have any lower incidence of salmonella infection than their industrial-scale counterparts. But according to a recent report by small-scale farming advocacy group the Cornucopia Institute, the "organic" label doesn't even guarantee that your eggs will be coming from a small producer.

The report, titled "Scrambled Eggs," found that many organic producers were keeping their chickens in very similar conditions as conventional producers -- with sometimes as many as a million birds crammed into tiny cages across vast coops. They found these pictures: a far cry from the green fields that many people think of when they think "organic."

There is a lot of leeway in what will allow a producer to become certified organic, and some smaller farmers are frustrated that they are classified in the same category as million-chicken operations.

The USDA will be meeting at the end of the month to review organic standards for poultry operations.