Pastured Eggs

Easter will be here in a couple of weeks, and one fun part of the day is children finding colored eggs hidden outside in the bushes and tall grass. Is that what you think of when you hear "Pastured Eggs"? 

(By the way, if you don't know yet, eggs are good for you.  The information from the past that said to avoid eggs or eat just the egg white is wrong. See Why Are Eggs Good For You.)

pastured chickens

What are Pastured Eggs? They probably aren't eggs that are dropped here and there out in the fields. They are still laid in a chicken coop, but the hens live outside during the day, often following behind the cattle that have been moved to a different field to graze. The hens are healthier living this way and the eggs they lay will be healthier for us to eat than conventional eggs laid in a factory farm.

Tests have shown the superiority of pastured eggs:

• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene

conventional egg farm

What kind of eggs should you buy? There are a lot of different labels on egg cartons at the store, so which kind of egg should you buy? Kris at Authority Nutrition explains:

• Conventional Eggs – These are your standard supermarket eggs. The chickens are usually raised in an overfilled hen house or a cage and never see the light of day.   They are usually fed grain-based [feed], supplemented with vitamins and minerals. May also be treated with antibiotics and hormones.
• Organic Eggs – Were not treated with antibiotics or hormones and received organic feed. May have had limited access to the outdoors.
• Pastured Eggs – Chickens are allowed to roam free, eating plants and insects (their natural food) along with some commercial feed.
• Free range could mean that there’s a small window on the hen house where the hens have the option of going outside.
• Cage free just means that they aren’t raised in a cage. They could still be raised in a smelly, dirty overstuffed hen house.
• Omega-3 Enriched Eggs – Basically, they’re like conventional chickens except that their feed is supplemented with an Omega-3 source like flax seeds. May have had some access to the outside.

Kris recommends buying eggs based on this order of quality:
Pastured > Omega-3 > Organic > Free Range/Cage Free > Conventional.
And he says even if you can't get pastured or organic, "conventional eggs are still among the healthiest and most nutritious foods you can eat."

Where can you buy Pastured Eggs?  Start by checking these two websites for farm information near you: Local Harvest and  Eat Wild.  And save your empty egg cartons;  often the farmer will reuse the cartons that you return.