Paul Righetti’s left-hand man is a dog. A dog called Oscar. He is a Maremma guard dog that looks after the ISA brown hens that graze on pasture on his farm outside Guildford. The birds lay eggs sold under the Honest Egg Co. label. “We don’t like to talk about free-range, because that can mean 1500 birds sitting outside a shed without a blade of grass!” explains Paul. “Instead, we see ourselves as regenerative farmers.” The flocks of birds are free to roam on fresh pasture, scratching about for seeds, insects, and small stones to help digest the grain in which they are also fed. The dogs live with the hens and keep foxes away. At night the hens return to their mobile sheds for warmth and shelter. Every week the sheds are moved to fresh pasture. The grass can recuperate, and the manure is absorbed into the soil and eaten by microscopic bugs. And this is where the miracle of regenerative farming starts!

The chicken manure is turned into plant nutrients by bacteria, and other micro lifeforms. The grasses feed on these nutrients turning CO2 and water into more grass using sunlight. Then cattle and sheep come along and eat the grass. Their manure, in turn, becomes home to big bugs. Then it is time to bring the chickens in again who eat those bugs. And on it goes. The soil in improved, the manure stopped from going into watercourses and carbon captured in the soil.

The proof in the tasting and Honest Egg Co. eggs have thick albumens that cling to the yolk. The yolks are naturally deep yellow (not dyed orange) and have a luscious texture and pleasing savoury flavour. They are as good scrambled as they are in this authentic recipe for Spanish Tortilla.

“There is a lot of BS when it comes to free range eggs. We only allow 30 hens per hectare, living in moveable sheds, protected from foxes by Maremma dogs and grazing on fresh pasture. Every week our birds are moved. It’s very different to the big ‘free range’ farms where 1500 birds are allowed per hectare. Honest Egg Co. is the real deal,” says Paul. “We are regenerative farmers. We have just 30 hens per hectare and move them each week. Their manure feeds the bugs in the soil who produce nutrients to feed the grass. The grass uses sunlight to turn carbon and water into more nutrients. Our cows and sheep eat the grass and their manure feed the bugs in the soil. Regenerative farming builds soil, captures carbon, protects waterways, and encourages biodiversity and produces our award winning eggs.”

And that is why we are so proud to stock Honest Egg Co. eggs at Blake Family Grocers.