It might make a larger omelette but a bigger egg isn't necessarily a better one — and it certainly doesn't make the hen that laid it very happy.

That is the view of the chairman of the British Free Range Producers' Association, who says that if you want to be kind to hens, you should eat medium, not large or very large, eggs.

“It can be painful to the hen to lay a larger egg,” Tom Vesey, who keeps 16,000 hens on 45 acres at Dingestow, Monmouth, told The Times. “There is also the stress, which is a big problem as it takes more out of hens to lay large eggs. It would be kinder to eat smaller eggs. Whenever I go to the Continent people eat medium-sized eggs yet here the housewife seems to be wedded to large eggs.”

He also suggests people would do better eating a breakfast of two medium-sized eggs rather than one large one. “I prefer medium eggs,” he said， “They taste better, are less watery and don't run off the plate.”

Mr Vesey, who says he is determined to change egg-shopping habits, insists that farmers only produce large eggs because they receive more for them from supermarkets. The average price for 12 free-range eggs paid to a farmer is 77p for medium, £1 for large and just over £1 for very large.

Mr Vesey has been criticised by industry chiefs for raising the issue in The Grocer but animal welfare experts say his argument is valid. Phil Brooke, of Compassion in World Farming, said: “Selectively breeding hens for high productivity, whether larger eggs or larger numbers of eggs, can cause a range of problems such as osteoporosis, bone breakage and prolapse. We need to breed and feed hens so that they can produce eggs without risk to their health or welfare.”

Christine Nicol, Professor of Animal Welfare at the University of Bristol, said: “There is no strong published evidence of pain in egg-laying hens but it's not unreasonable to think there may be a mismatch in the size of birds and the eggs they produce. We do often spot bloodstains on large eggs. As a personal decision I would never buy jumbo eggs.”

Prices for very large eggs have decreased slightly over the past year, something Mr Vesey believes may make farmers think again about their production. He would like to see higher prices paid for medium eggs to encourage production. There is little consumer demand for small eggs, which weigh less than 53g and are mostly used in processed food.

He thinks by changing the protein element of poultry feed it is possible for farmers to slow down the process of egg production so that hens can lay smaller eggs. He also suggests that farmers will make more profit from producing medium eggs because there will be fewer breakages. The volume of egg shell is the same on a medium as on a large or very large egg. Thin shells mean more cracked eggs.

Mark Williams, head of the British Egg Industry Council, said shoppers mostly opted for large eggs, thinking they offered better value for money. “But it is possible consumers could be switched off from buying large overnight,” he said.

Alan Pearson, spokesman for the British Poultry Veterinary Association, said: “Frankly I think there are bigger welfare issues that people have in their minds, such as hens in cages. The size of an egg rarely causes problems for the bird.”

Lindsey Bareham, The Times cook, said: “I have no doubt that the diet of the chicken is what affects the flavour of its eggs, not the size. If eggs from organic, free-range chickens aren't available, I'd rather go without.”

用一個大雞蛋做的煎蛋卷也許更大，但大雞蛋并不一定比小雞蛋更好——產下大個雞蛋的母雞肯定悶悶不樂。

英國家禽放養者協會的主席就是這么想的，他說如果你想善待母雞，那就應該吃中號的雞蛋，而不是大號甚至特大號雞蛋。

Tom Vesey在蒙茅斯的丁格斯托有一家占地45英畝的養雞場，共蓄養了16000只母雞。他告訴《泰晤士報》記者：“對于母雞來說，產下一個大個的雞蛋可能會是一件痛苦的事情。母雞還要面對產蛋的緊張情緒。這也是一個大問題，因為要下大個的蛋，母雞的付出也更多。還是吃小點的雞蛋吧，那樣更人道。歐洲大陸上的人們都吃中號的雞蛋，而英國的家庭主婦們似乎對大號的雞蛋情有獨鐘。”

Vesey先生還說，人們早餐時候吃兩個中號雞蛋而不是一個大雞蛋實際上更有好處。“我喜歡中號雞蛋，”他說，“中號雞蛋味道更好，水分更少，而且不會從盤子中滑出去。”

Vesey先生說他決心改變人們買雞蛋的習慣。他認為，農民生產大個的雞蛋是為了多賺錢。根據市面上一打雞蛋的平均價格，每賣出一個中號雞蛋，農民能獲得77便士，而賣出一個大號雞蛋能賺一英鎊，賣出一個特大號雞蛋的收入則能超過一英鎊。

雞蛋產業領袖批評Vesey先生在《雜貨商》雜志中提出雞蛋個頭的問題是小題大作，但動物權利專家認為Vesey先生的觀點有道理。世界農場動物福利協會的Phil Brooke說：“無論是為了得到更大的蛋還是更多的蛋，有意促進母雞生產能力的做法都會造成諸如骨質疏松、骨折和脫臼等一系列問題。我們在養殖母雞的過程中不應該損害它們的健康或者福利。

Christine Nicol教授是布里斯托大學動物福利專家。他說：“雖然沒有任何有說服力的資料證明產蛋過程會為母雞帶來痛苦，但我們的確應該考慮一下讓母雞產大個的雞蛋是不是‘強雞所難’。人們在大雞蛋上常常可以看到血絲。從我個人來講，我是不會買超大號雞蛋的。”

過去一年中，大號雞蛋的價格稍稍下降了一些。Vesey先生相信這可以讓農民們重新思考一下他們應該生產什么樣的雞蛋。他希望能夠提高中號雞蛋的收購價格以鼓勵生產。消費者對53克以下的小個雞蛋需求量并不大，這種雞蛋一般用于食品加工。

Vesey先生認為，可以通過改變雞飼料的蛋白質成分減緩產蛋過程，從而讓雞蛋小一些。他還提出，中號的雞蛋可以給農民帶來更多收益，因為不會有那么多蛋碎掉。無論是中號的雞蛋還是大號或者特大號的雞蛋，蛋殼的容量都是相同的。而蛋殼薄的大雞蛋也更容易破。

英國蛋產業協會的主席Mark Williams說，多數消費者選擇大雞蛋是因為他們覺得大雞蛋性價比高。“但消費者也可能一夜之間就不買大雞蛋了，”他說。

英國家禽醫學會的發言人Alan Pearson說：“坦誠地講，我認為還有許多更值得人們關注的動物權利問題，比如被困在狹窄鐵籠里的母雞。蛋的大小對禽類來說幾乎不算什么問題。”

《泰晤士報》大廚Lindsey Bareham說：“毫無疑問，雞蛋的味道是由母雞的飲食決定的，而不是蛋的大小。如果沒有吃有機飼料的放養母雞下的蛋，我寧可不吃。”