The Huge Change Morrisons Is Making To Its Egg Production

Scrambled, fried, poached, or even hard-boiled, that incredible egg can be cooked in seemingly infinite ways. Whether they're the main protein or an ingredient to mix in a recipe, eggs are a constant on many grocery lists. While an egg can be an easy meal to crack, it might not be as easy to choose which eggs to buy. Beyond considerations like size or color, packaging labels have consumers picking one container over another. For example, The Spruce Eats explains some common designations, like cage-free, free-range, and pastured. While these labels focus on the hens' ability to roam, some newer categories are looking to clarify the hens' food and how that impacts the eggs in the carton.

Some companies are looking to categorize their food offerings as carbon neutral. According to ClimatePartner, a carbon-neutral food counterbalances its emissions through "certified carbon offset projects." Some consumers choose to support brands that are trying to make a positive environmental impact, just like some people pick products labeled as organic. Recently, a British supermarket announced that it is ready to break into the carbon neutral conversation in a big way. Will consumers flock to the store to get the first taste of these eggs?

Morrisons eggs go carbon neutral with help from insects

Morrisons, which bills itself as "the U.K.'s fourth largest supermarket chain," per its website, just added a new category of eggs to its shelves.  According to a company press release, Morrisons' "Planet Friendly Eggs" will be carbon neutral as a result of employing a "circular waste feeding scheme." Specifically, the chickens feed on insects that eat the store's bakery food scraps. It might not be the circle of life from "The Lion King," but this method eliminates the use of soya, whose emissions have been tied to enormous deforestation, per The Guardian.

According to The Guardian, Morrisons has said the diet change should not impact the quality or taste of the eggs. Even though commercial chickens can be fed soya, chickens have long eaten insects. The change may not be apparent at the table, but the goal is a long-haul impact on the environment. As Morrisons explained in its announcement, the company has been looking to partner with farms that focus on a zero-carbon model. An insect-based circular feeding scheme brings another environmental tool to the table.