Are the big companies going to splash out on expensive eggs when they can buy cage eggs for a fraction of the price?

We live in an instant gratification society where we want everything faster, cheaper and easier.

It made me think about how little we are told from big industries which hold monopolies on what we as consumers have access to.

How many products are in my fridge and pantry that are made from battery hen eggs?

My over-stocked wardrobe that's full of gorgeous clothes, how many of them were stitched together in sweatshops by people getting paid next-to-nothing an hour?

When I buy a cappuccino in the morning, where did the beans come from and how much were the workers paid to pick them?

One of the benefits we have living in Ballarat is our proximity to fresh food producers and our ability to cut out the need to go through big supermarkets, avoid the price war and get good quality, good value produce.

In our local region, there are farmers markets and gourmet food markets on weekly.

I am an avid op shopper and love trawling my local markets in Melbourne for the best bargains.

I once lived on smoothies for days after buying kilos and kilos of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries at a market for about $5.

One of the things The Courier is passionate about, is raising awareness about climate change.

We are doing this through an exciting new venture called Earth Matters.

I think that while climate change and the environment are extremely important, and we should all be doing our best to conserve energy and water and make sustainable changes in our lives, we should also think about life on earth on a smaller scale.

Our animals.

I am not a naive animal rights activist.

I eat meat and I know where a lot of it comes from.

I think that in Australia we treat our animals very well and I even support mulesing as I've spoken about in a previous blog.

But as consumers we need to step up and think about what we are buying, because by purchasing things like cage eggs we are buying into the cycle of cruelty.

This weekend, bundle your family up, grab a basket and head down to one of Ballarat's farmers markets.

The Courier's Community News published on Fridays contains a list of some of the markets nearby.

Load up on organic vegetables, free range eggs, home made jams and sauces and fill your basket full of the finest that Ballarat growers have to offer.

If you are interested in finding out more about the plight of battery hens in Australia please visit:

Alv.org.au or Openrescue.org.

It's time we stopped buying into the cycle of cruelty and thought about what we're putting in our mouths.