Understanding Food Quality: Eggs
Buying quality eggs at the grocery store can be confusing as hell. Free-range, farm fresh, organic, etc. What does it all mean? Labels are so damn confusing and misleading.
Lets get started and make it all easy to understand.
Eggs laid by CAGED chickens come from a place that looks like this:
As you can see, chickens raised in a CAGED environment are forced to live in horrible conditions. They literally spend their entire life in a cage no bigger than a sheet of printing paper. Because of horrific conditions that lead to contamination, chickens are constantly exposed antibiotics and other harmful drugs—which end up in the eggs you eat, which end up in you. Although it’s a buck fifty for a dozen eggs, I would highly recommend staying away from purchasing these eggs, not only for your own personal health, but for ethical reasons as well. Packages that DON'T state, "cage free", "free range", or "pasture raised" ARE 100% CAGED EGGS. Sometimes you will see "ALL NATURAL" or "FARM FRESH". This also indicates caged.
Eggs laid by CAGE-FREE chickens come from a place that looks like this:
This is definitely heading in a better direction compared to CAGED. Here the chickens aren’t in a cage, but they get to roam around in a large warehouse. However, it’s still extremely cramped, with shit everywhere. Conditions, I would say, are still very poor. Chicken never go outside, ever. The quality of egg is still not particularly good with this option. Packages that state "CAGE-FREE", are in this category.
Eggs laid by FREE-RANGE chickens come from a place that looks like this:
Getting even better. Now the chickens have a chance to roam outside for unspecified amounts of time. Some farmers allow them to move around a lot and some don’t. Also, although they have access to the outdoors, many of the chickens never actually leave the
warehouse. The quality of the egg is definitely better in this case, compared to the two above. Packages that state "FREE-RANGE", are in this category.
Eggs laid by PASTURE-RAISED chickens come from a place that looks like this:
Out of the group, this is the best possible option for purchasing high-quality, highly nutritious, and contaminant-free eggs. Sure, you’re paying a bit more, but you’re actually paying for highly nutritious food that’s not filled with empty calories and shit contaminants–on top of supporting a sustainable farming culture that doesn’t pollute and destroy the environment and raises animals in an ethical manner. This is the best possible option to choose from compared to everything above, once again for your health and for ethical reasons. Packaging that states "PASTURE-RAISED", are in this category.
Although I’m sure many exist on the market, I like this brand of pasture-raised, USDA organic eggs: Vital Farm's Pasture-Raised Organic Eggs. You can find these eggs at Sprouts and Whole Foods stores. I'm not associated with this company in anyway and i'm not getting any kick backs. This is just the brand i like to purchase.
For a more comprehensive understanding, checkout the following videos:
