Organic vs. Cage Free Eggs

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Izanami66
Izanami66 Posts: 181 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello everyone!!

I just thought I'd drop a quick line to get some opinions. For the longest time, I just bought regular ol' store brand white eggs. In the past couple of years, I have made an effort to buy higher quality eggs. I have been buying Grade Aa, cage free brown eggs, from grain fed hens, thinking I was making a good decision for my health and for the treatment of the birds laying these eggs. These eggs are not, however, organic, which makes their price a little more reasonable.

My question is, am I wasting my money by buying these eggs? Are they really no different than the Kroger brand white eggs I used to buy? Cage free was important to me, as I've been traumatized (as I'm sure many of you have been) by the images of these poor chickens in wire cages so small their beaks and feet stick out. What do you all buy and why? I know this is kind of a broad question, but I'm just looking to get some different points of view. Thanks everyone!

Replies

  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
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    If you are purchasing your eggs from a grocery store.........organic, cage free, etc means nothing. It is nothing but a marketing ploy.

    Your best bet is to find a local source of eggs that when you drive up you see the chickens running around the yard hunting and pecking for their own food.

    Those chickens that produce eggs for the grocery stores are fed high grain (vegetarian) diets and chickens ARE NOT vegetarians. That is messing with the Omega 3:6 balance that should be naturally in the eggs.

    I buy eggs from a local farm for $2.50 a dozen and they have the largest, orangish yolks. The shells are nice and thick, not thin like grocery store eggs and the white of the egg is not runny, it is very firm when you pour it out of the shell into the pan.
  • Izanami66
    Izanami66 Posts: 181 Member
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    Thank you for your response, and I'll attempt to find somewhere local I can purchase my eggs from. Chickens are not vegetarian?? Do you mean they actually eat meat or are you meaning various insects found in their natural habitat?
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,954 Member
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    I raise my own chickens and they are allowed to run around the yarn foraging for bugs and grass at will (the way a chicken is supposed to eat!) I supplement with chicken food because especially in winter it can be hard to get enough to eat, especially with snow on the ground.

    My chickens went through a molt and stopped laying for a couple of weeks so I had to buy some eggs. Since it was only a short time I went the easy route and bought the cage free organic brown eggs from Costco. We still had a couple when my chickens started laying again so I cracked one of ours into a bowl and then added a Costco egg to the same bowl just out of curiosity. My eggs were so orange even the white had an orange tint to it! Big, fat beautiful yolk too! The store bought egg was a very pale yellow and the white was clear with no trace of color. It was a very distinct difference. Chickens are not supposed to exist on a vegetarian grain diet. They require protein for egg development and healthy baby chickens.

    If you can find a local source of eggs from someone who lets their chickens forage in the yard like they're supposed to that will be your healthiest option. Well, outside of raising your own anyway. Check craigslist, there are a lot of people selling their excess eggs on CL in our area.
  • amyann2
    amyann2 Posts: 69 Member
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    Thanks for this thread; you've inspired me to make an effort to find a source for local eggs. (I would give a lot to be allowed to raise chickens, but in our suburban area it's forbidden not only by the homeowners association but also by city rules.)
  • EvilShenanigansTX
    EvilShenanigansTX Posts: 143 Member
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    I buy pasture raised, antibiotic free, organic eggs from a local farmer, via our Farmer's Market, for two reasons.

    First, I prefer to buy eggs from chickens who are allowed to roam on a pasture and do what chickens do. I have been to the farm and seen the conditions and I approve. Cage raised eggs, or even conventional cage-free eggs, come from farms where chickens are given little space to move and fed all kinds of unnatural feeds. SAD!

    Second, pasture raised eggs taste SUPERIOR to conventional eggs. They have a bright orange/gold yolk, they are super fresh, and they last weeks longer.

    I also buy pasture raised beef, chicken, and pork for all these same reasons. If you live in the Dallas area I can tell you where to get the good stuff!
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
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    organic doesn't matter, but cage free veggie fed DOES make a huge difference.

    I buy them because 1) they're less genetically modified and 2) it promotes healthier chicken raising practices

    EDIT: i posted this after reading the responses... and now I'm reconsidering. might have to just check out a farmers market or too because that's a great, great point about marketing ploys and vegetarian feed.
  • ndhewitt
    ndhewitt Posts: 1 Member
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    organic means no use of fungicides, pesticides, and herbicides. cage free or pasture raised means that they have access to pasture where they can eat a variety of bugs etc. organic is important so that there aren't as many toxins, pasture raised is important so that you are getting a lot of omega 3s. i'd definitely only buy omega 3 or pasture raised eggs because it's a super important thing.

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