Photo by Woodley Wonderworks
I love me some eggs. I can eat eggs everyday. Boiled. Over-easy. Scrambled. French Omelet. And the list goes on. They are an inexpensive source of protein, and so much more!
Eggs are Good For You
For a long time, eggs were (and perhaps still are) shunned as a high-cholesterol food that causes coronary heart disease. We are still advised nowadays to limit our consumption to one per day, and if necessary, to skip the egg yolk part of the egg, which is actually the most concentrated source of choline, a B vitamin that is necessary to keep cholesterol moving in our bloodstream. Eggs, the right kind of eggs, provide high quality protein and are rich in just about every nutrient we know of. Especially vitamins A and D. They are also found to be good for your eyes.
But Not All Eggs Are Created Equal
As we discussed last week that not all milk is equal, similarly not all eggs are the same. The best eggs are those from chicken that are allowed to roam about in their natural environment. Chickens, if left on green pastures, will eat about 30% grass in their diet. The rest of their diet will be from flax meal or fish meal along with bugs and worms they find on the pasture.
Commercial Eggs are mostly from chickens raised in very tight spaces. They hardly see the light of day. They are fed mostly grains instead of grass, among other things. Because they are so tightly packed, they have to be de-beaked to avoid harming one another. More on that later.
Nutritional Content Comparison
Photo By Roger B
The difference in the diet of a commercial egg-laying hen and a farm free roaming pastured egg-laying hen is most evident in their nutritional content. Mother Earth News did a study in 2007 that compared farm fresh eggs with commercial eggs and the results were as follows:
- Farm Fresh Eggs had 7 times more Beta-Carotene (79 mcg vs 10 mcg)
- Farm Fresh Eggs had 2/3 more Vitamin A (791.86 IU vs 487 IU)
- Farm Fresh Eggs had 3 times more Vitamin E (3.73 mg vs 0.97 mg)
- Farm Fresh Eggs had 2 times more Omega 3 (0.66 g vs 0.22 g)
- Farm Fresh Eggs had 1/3 less cholesterol (277 mg vs 423 mg)
- Farm Fresh eggs had 1/4 less saturated fat (2.4g vs 3.1 g)
But studies even dating back to 1974, like the British Journal of Nutrition, found that pastured eggs had 50 percent more folic acid and 70 percent more vitamin B12 than eggs from factory farm hens. Back then, and still now, farm fresh eggs are just plain better for you.
A Visual Comparison of Commercial Eggs vs Farm Fresh Pastured Eggs
Photo From The Tasting Buds Blog
I really wished I thought of this first, and that I had time to do it, but over at Tasting Buds, Peter and Jon did a visual comparison of farmer’s market eggs and conventional eggs. The differences are pretty clear: egg yolks are deeper and darker, egg whites are clearer. And taste? Oh my. Richer. Fuller. Yum Yum. But clearly, I’m biased.
Chicken Welfare and Environment
The commercial egg industry has a lot of dirty secrets, literally. I’ll spill the top three I can think of:
- Male chicks are killed by the thousands by tossing them in a conveyor belt and fed into grinding machines. (Check out this article by the The Examiner.)
- Chicks are forcefully de-beaked. Because they live in such tight conditions, they have no room to forage, which is their natural activity. As a result, they feather peck each other aggressively. The only solution is to remove their beaks, a form of mutilation if you think about it.
- Chicks are forced molted: they are starved for 14 days so that they can start the egg-laying process again. Forced molting is a very stressful process to go through. (You can read more at theUnited Poultry Concern website.)
The Winner: Farm Fresh Eggs
Fresh eggs from your local farm are simply the best! Your farmer’s market is your best source. Although they usually go for about $5/dozen eggs, it is worth the price!
You can also find a Community-Supported Agriculture Farm for a weekly supply for fresh eggs. You usually have to be subscribed to a share (like a produce share or a chicken share) to sign up for the egg share. Some will even deliver to your door! Our family hasn’t done this yet, but we’re looking into it.
Or better yet, keep your own chickens! One day, when we have a bigger yard, maybe I’ll consider it!
The Reality
I doubt anyone would argue against buying farm fresh eggs, but reality is, many of us still buy eggs from grocery stores which stock their shelves with commercial eggs. Perhaps the farmer’s market is a little bit to far to drive to every week. If this is you, Part 2 is for you. Because not all commercial eggs are the same either! Next Tuesday, we’re going to sort through the confusing labels we see on egg cartons sold at your typical grocery store.
What about you? Do you eat farm fresh eggs? Where are you in the journey?
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3 Responses to “Nourishing Breakfast Series: The Mighty Egg Part 1”
We get our eggs from a local homeschool family; their girls raise chickens and sell the eggs as a little business.
Oh how lovely!
on June 8th, 2010 at 12:22 am #
[...] protein. Boil a few and have it handy dandy in the fridge when the hunger strikes. (You read about my take on eggs before, right? Right. Just [...]