chickens and eggs

Why pay a $3.00 CAD premium for a dozen eggs? Chalk it up to a childhood memory of an elementary school field trip to a farm; specifically, a visit to the massive chicken house. There were thousands of birds, row upon row of tiny cages, three chickens in each. “There are only supposed to be two” we were told. “Don’t tell anybody.” Conveyor belts sweep away the eggs. I remember thinking it was horrible. Cramped in cages, never seeing the sun, to live and die like this. Fast forward to a recent trip to the grocery story. Yes, I’ll pay double for a dozen just to let the chickens run free. Call it a guilt tax.