What Do You Know About Eggs?

Photo by Kelly Neil on Unsplash

I eat a lot of eggs, and I am picky about which eggs I buy. And, the ones I buy are more expensive than those I do not. Why pay more? Because it makes a difference to the hen, and it does make a difference in the egg.

I'm an omnivore. I recognize that eating lower on the food pyramid is generally better for modern humans and for the environment. But I also recognize that there are tens of thousands of years of evolution in which people ate all kinds of food, and morally, I don't have a problem with eating meat. That being said, I prefer eating meat from animals that have been treated humanely before they end up on my plate.

This brings me to eggs. What do all of the various labels mean and what difference does it make?

If you see the term "natural" on the label, it means nothing. All eggs are natural. Eggs are not processed to be ready for you to eat.

If eggs do not have "cage-free", "free-range", or "pasture-raised" on the carton, you can rest assured, the eggs come from a battery cage system. The vast majority of the eggs sold in the US come from battery caged hens. They are the least expensive eggs, but birds held in these cages have a horrible life. They have about 67 square inches of space (think an 8 x 11 piece of paper of floor space). There is no ability to do things that chickens do. The chickens are very limited in their ability to move and suffer high stress and also more commonly develop osteoporosis.

The next level up is cage-free eggs. Hens in this environment have more space and can move around, flap their wings and engage in normal chicken behavior. They still don't have a lot of space and they are not outside.

Free-range eggs are from hens that do have access to being outdoors, although they don't have to have a lot of outdoor space.

Pasture-raised eggs hens have the best commercial environment with more access to the outdoors. Since they can forage, they can eat bugs and other green plants they would not have access to indoors.

What about organic eggs? This just means their feed is organic (no chemical pesticides). 

What about vegetarian eggs? I am not a fan. This means the chickens are fed only plant food. Chickens are also omnivores and love insects and grubs.

We can easily see how the method of egg production can affect a hen's quality of life, but does it make a difference in the nutritional value of the egg? Well, yes it does. Personally, I think there is a big difference in the taste of a caged egg versus a pasture-raised egg, but taste is one of those things that you can argue is subjective. Nutrition, not so much.

Studies have shown that "the average free-range egg in comparison to caged eggs show a quarter to a third less cholesterol, a quarter less saturated fat, two-thirds more vitamin A, three times more vitamin E, seven times more beta-carotene and twice the amount of omega-3 fatty acids (Gaia). Other tests performed have found that free-range eggs have nearly six times the amount of vitamin D and significantly more B vitamins in comparison to store brand eggs." Source

Given options, I prefer buying eggs from local small farms or homes that allow their chickens outside to be chickens. If I am buying them in the store, then I go with pasture-raised eggs if they have them. Cage-free is the minimum I will go.

Pasture-raised eggs are expensive. One place you can find them a little cheaper is at Natural Grocers. If you are a member of their Npower rewards, you can buy them even more cheaply. Always check the sale area of in cooler case where the dairy products are. It doesn't happen often, but sometimes you can find some eggs beyond their sale date for super cheap. They are still perfectly good to use.

Our everyday purchase choices matter. I know some people just don't have the income to be picky, but most of us can help raise the bar a little bit on eggs.

Kitchen Composting

Happy New Year!

In my last post, I mentioned a compost bin I kept under the sink. I thought I would do a little review for those who may be interested.

Why send your kitchen scraps to the landfill? Here in Wichita Falls, you do have the option to put them into your organics container for the city composting operation, but I would rather make my own compost, when possible.

You could absolutely put your scraps in any container, but you will need to take the scraps out daily to avoid the smell and inviting critters you do not want into your home. Since I have a tendency to get distracted, a bin like this is a good idea.

My son-in-law chose the one in the photo to the right one year as a gift. It is stainless steel. I have seen many similar bins for the kitchen, but have only used this one. The brand name is Natural Home, if you want to check it out. The bin is 3 pieces: the actual bin, a lid with holes so air can circulate (you do not want any anaerobic action happening, trust me), and a charcoal filter that fits in the lid. It has a 1.3 gallon capacity, which is enough for most days. The instructions say the charcoal filter should be changed every month, but I have had mine for more than a year and have changed the filter once. I haven't had an issue with smell. 

You could put your scraps into the bin directly. I did find some compostable bags made of corn on Amazon that fit and use them. Mainly because I would take the bin outside and get distracted and leave the bin out in the weather, which it seemed to deal with just fine, but isn't very convenient when you need it in the kitchen. 

Using the bag, I can take the scraps out and take them to the garden and drop bag and all into a hole. Yes, I compost the lazy way--directly into the garden. More about that another time. The bags break down fairly quickly, so don't wait too long to take your scraps out or it will not hold up when you pull it out. But as long as take it out every couple of days, you should be fine.