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.

Natural Grocers Open

Natural Grocers

I went to the pre-opening event at Natural Grocers in Wichita Falls on December 5. They put the sign up just that day. There has been a lot of side betting about whether the store could be completed on time, as it looked as if the building was running behind schedule. But the store was finished and fully stocked that evening.

We've been needing a store like this. This is what I always wished Sunshine would be. I hope the community will support it.

The produce looked awesome!

Although United Market Street has a lot of organic products, I did some casual price comparisons and found many of the items were about the same price and perhaps less expensive here (we'll see if that holds up over time.) In fact the butter I bought that morning at United was $1 less at Natural Grocers. There is also a larger variety of organic items.

The produce section was beautiful. Not only did they have more items than the organic section of United, but the produce looked really nice. Often the organic produce at United looks wilted. Another thing we'll have to watch over time. There were also some unusual items, like blue sweet potatoes, so it will be fun to try some new things.

Bulk section

Vitamins and supplements

Personally, I was interested in their bulk section. I was a little disappointed that their bulk was all in plastic bags, but still, there is less packaging here than in many of the same items bought in a regular grocery store. I liked that there was at least a few types of loose leaf tea--both black and herbal. There were also a lot of bulk spices. This is a good area to check out. The items don't jump out at you--you do have to take your time and look at the labels. But I'll be checking out this area in more detail, for sure.

I am not a big supplements user, but if you are, I can't imagine you couldn't find what you're looking for at this store. You can see the well-stocked aisle.

Samples of dishes made with some of the foods available were set up for taste testing. The recipes were set out for most of them. The demonstration kitchen and community room are set up for cooking classes to teach people how to make healthier foods and use foods consumers may not be familiar with.  They had some classes set up for Thursday about paleo wraps, but I don't know how many people got out with the snow. Thursday evening a demo on organic, gluten and dairy free smoothies and snacks was scheduled.

Soap

For the cooks among us, Natural Grocers is looking for people interested in teaching others about cooking and nutrition. If you're interested, contact Janeen Goldsmith at jgoldsmith@vitamincottage.com or call her at (303) 986-4600 x 175. You can find out more at their website.

They also have some interesting personal care and cleaning products. I was happy to see Dr. Bronner's pure castille soap.

Everyone was very friendly at the pre-opening. We'll see how their customer service stacks up after they are open. They'll have their work cut out to compete with United Market Street on that front.

Because of the weather, I haven't been back when I've been able to actually shop. I do have some items I want and will definitely be going back. Stop by, check it out and tell others what you think.