Food Waste Makes Great Eggs

Food Waste Makes Great Eggs Rhizome Food is making better-tasting eggs with food waste. They’re doing this by feeding hens a mixed ration of brewer’s grain, fruit and vegetable waste, bakery waste and seafood scraps. The regional food research and incubation company is an offshoot of Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture and Blue Hill Restaurant. Stone Barns is, in turn, home to a wide variety of farm-related research, including wagon train chicken coops (Vol. 43, No. 5). “We’re in year two of a two-year project,” explains Andrew Luzmore, Blue Hill. “We have a control flock getting a standard organic grain ration, and our research flock getting the mixed ration. The eggs from the waste-fed flock are outperforming the eggs from the grain-fed flock.” The eggs are evaluated for nutrients, appearance, and taste using blind taste panels. The results to date indicate 27% more Vitamin A, 33% more Vitamin E and 28% more Omega-3s than the grain-fed flock. The results validated a suspicion Blue Hill Farms had long had. “Years ago, our farmers started feeding our hens scraps from Blue Hill’s kitchens,” explains Luzmore. “The hens thrived, and the eggs were delicious. Since then, we’ve been experimenting with how far we could go.” The current project formalized experimentation with support from a grant from Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE). Food waste was selected for a nutrient-dense diet. An expert in animal nutrition put together the ration. The brewer’s grain is inoculated with Lactobacillus, which helps solidify it and make it more shelf-stable. “We started out with the research flock getting waste food in 10% of their ration,” recalls Luzmore. “We kept increasing it in 10% increments until we hit 90% in October. Feed costs plummeted, and the eggs were the best our cooks at our Blue Hill Restaurant had ever tasted.” Given Blue Hill’s reputation for fine dining, the cooks have an appreciation for great-tasting ingredients. Luckily for them, the experiment continues. A duplicate effort is taking place in Maine at a second farm. “We hope to publish our data at the end of 2026,” says Luzmore. “While we have early results, we want to be diligent with the research and have the two full years of data to share.” Luzmore notes that with 40% of food reportedly going to waste in the U.S., there’s a lot of potential feed going to waste as well. “When 190 million U.S. acres grow corn and soybeans for animals, an egg powered by food waste feels like a triple win,” says Luzmore. “Less grain, less waste and more flavor.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rhizome Food, Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, 630 Bedford Rd., Tarrytown, N.Y. 10591 (ph 914-366-6200; info@rhizome.food; www.stonebarnscenter.org; Instagram: @rhizome.food).

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