Pages

Monday, October 22, 2012

Store bought eggs vs. Fresh farm eggs

   Most people know how crazy I am about chickens, there wonderful pets, provide great natural pest control, and of course give tasty eggs. How many of you out there can say that your pet made you breakfast?! There are so many wonderful reasons to keep chickens, I could go on and on, but for now I want to talk about eggs.
  
   I am often asked by people who have never had real fresh eggs, what's the difference in a store bought egg and a farm egg?  Farm eggs are usually the product of “free range” chickens which are free to roam the pasture or yard, eating a varied diet including grass, grains, greens, and an occasional grasshopper or bug. They aren’t fed antibiotics. They aren’t kept in cramped cages,or over crowed chicken houses.
   
Some say, the white eggs are commercial eggs and the brown are farm eggs. The color of the egg shell is determined by the breed of chicken, and can be beautiful shades of brown, white, green, and even blue.Any egg can be a product of factory produced eggs,no matter the color of it's shell.

So you buy cage-free, free range or organic eggs?... hmmm.. Well let's talk about what those terms really mean...
 
Terms that you may find on your egg carton include:
Cage free, free range, Organic, and vegetarian. These chickens often are not treated significantly different than the chickens that produce the cheaper eggs.

Cage free simply means that rather than 20,000 chickens being caged in a six foot by six foot room with their feet wired to the cage floor, they are free to roam about in that same six foot by six foot room.

 Free range may mean that there is a small door at one end of the room which leads to a small patch of dirt that the chickens may or may not find.

Organic simply refers to the type of feed that is fed to the chickens. The chickens may, or may not be treated ethically.

Vegetarian again refers to the feed that is fed, it means that the chickens are being given a vegetarian diet. It may sound healthy, but in reality chickens are omnivores. I have watched my own chickens snatch up bugs, mice, snakes, lizards,frogs and other creatures. Chickens are not naturally vegetarian, so what exactly is the point in feeding them a vegetarian diet?!

The chickens raised in factory farm situations are extremely stressed. They are routinely debeaked so they will not cannibalize one another. They get little fresh air, live in a putrid environment full of their own waste, with lights on round the clock to encourage more production. Because of these conditions salmonella and other diseases are a real threat.

  In short these terms are used to charge you the consumer more money, not necessarily providing you with a better egg.

When you can always buy fresh eggs from farmers with happy, healthy free ranging chickens.
 
Another thing is that fresh eggs contain a protective layer called the "bloom", the "bloom" has been washed off the eggs you buy in a grocery store, leaving the egg vulnerable to bacteria and a shorter shelf life. Not to mention those so called "fresh" eggs you buy in the store are often on average at least several days to a week old,and in some cases older. How's that for fresh?!

   Now for those of you who have never seen a fresh egg and store bought egg side by side, let's take a look...

Now the egg on the left is a store bought egg, and the one on the right is a fresh egg from our free range hens. I'm sure the first thing you will notice is the color, the store bought egg has a pale yellow yolk. The fresh egg has a deep orange yolk, this picture just does not do it justice. The deep orange color comes from higher levels of beta carotene,free range eggs also contain higher levels of Omega 3, Vitamins A and E, and lower levels of total fat,saturated fat, and cholesterol.

You know that saying "Happy cows make healthy milk"? Well the same applies to chickens.. happy chickens make healthy eggs.

Last but not least, do they taste different? Yes!! I find store bought eggs to be bland, and runny. Fresh eggs have more texture and flavor,and are fantastic in baked goods.Free range chickens produce better tasting, and healthier eggs. Once you try them you'll never go back to store bought eggs again!


 

No comments:

Post a Comment