One step beyond organic or free-range: Dutch farmer’s chickens lay carbon-neutral eggs

Poultry owner claims his new approach has the highest welfare standards and lowest cost to environment

There's the much-criticised battery hen egg, and then the pricier organic and free-range varieties. But for the truly ethically committed, how about the carbon-neutral egg, laid in what has been billed as the world's most environmentally friendly farm?

Dutch stores are now selling so-called "Kipster eggs" laid at a shiny new farm near the south-eastern city of Venray. "Kip" means chicken in Dutch, "ster" means star, and it's no coincidence the name rhymes with hipster. The intention is to rethink the place of animals in the food chain, according to Ruud Zanders, the poultry farmer and university lecturer behind the farm, which includes a visitor centre, corporate meeting room and even a free cappuccino machine.