Eggs are cheap

Compared to other foods in the supermarket, eggs are cheap.

At $3.75 a dozen, a buyer can make six breakfasts of two eggs for only $0.625 cents.

Consider the living conditions of today's chickens. An egg that costs only 32 cents suggests the chicken who lays it lives a miserable life, cheek to jowl with other hens.

That (egg) layer likely lives in a cramped cage, sharing the space with two otherhens. If you look closely at a photo of caged hens, you will notice the upper part of the bird’sbeak has been shortened. That is done to prevent the hens from pecking at each other in their unnatural habitat.

The good news is cages are being phased out and replaced with the barn floor, where chickens are less confined. Their eggs are called "free-run" though there is hardly room to run.

Free-range hens have the highest standard of accommodation. They are given free access from the barn to the outdoors. Their eggs are labelled "free-range".

Naturally, better living condition come at a cost. That is why eggs from caged hens are cheaper than free-run eggs, and why free-range eggs are the gold standard, costing around $8 a dozen. A couple of free-range eggs will cost about $1.33 for breakfast at home. That's still cheap compared to the price of a cup of coffee in a restaurant.

Helen Schiele