Let’s talk about conventional eggs vs. pasture-raised, organic eggs. There is a huge difference between the typical eggs at your grocery store and pasture-raised eggs.
Conventional eggs aren’t highly regulated. Even the expiration date isn’t regulated, so they may sit on the shelf for months before you get them.
However, one of the biggest issues we want to look at is what the chickens producing these eggs are fed. Chickens are meant to consume insects and worms. Instead, they’re fed GMO corn and soy.
What’s really shocking is that there is another ingredient in common chicken feeds called animal byproducts or animal protein products.
These animal protein products can include:
• Feathers
• Organs
• Blood
• Skin
• Manure
Even the vegetarian feeds are corn and soy—and it’s unnatural for chickens to consume grains alone.
Many people think that the color of a yolk will tell you the health of an egg. However, synthetic dyes are sometimes used in chicken feeds to give the yolk a certain color.
If a chicken eats what it should, the egg yolks will have a naturally vibrant golden color. In nature, it’s the antioxidants that give eggs this natural color. Eggs that have less of this natural color have fewer antioxidants.
Conventional eggs are produced by chickens in cages that never see the light of day. These chickens are very crowded and stressed.
Cage-free eggs are from chickens that are cage-free, but they’re still crowded in an enclosed space. Antibiotics can also be used on conventional and cage-free chickens.
Free-range chickens have slightly more space than cage-free chickens, and they have limited outdoor access. However, pasture-raised chickens have far more space and the ability to forage for food.
Pasture-raised eggs have higher amounts of fat-soluble vitamins and other essential nutrients. Organic, pasture-raised eggs are antibiotic-free, hormone-free, arsenic-free, and free of pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides.
Not only that but organic, pasture-raised eggs are produced by chickens that aren’t fed poultry slaughter byproducts.
You may have noticed omega-3-enriched eggs on the market. You don’t know the source of omega-3 fatty acids that are being used, and I think you’d be better off going with organic, pasture-raised eggs. Or, try raising your own chickens if possible!