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Food manufacturers have attempted to demonize eggs for decades. It is infinitely more profitable to convince the public to eat Egg Beaters and processed vegetable oils than to encourage them to consume the non-patentable perfection that is the egg.
Even folks who see through the marketing hype against eggs that is cleverly disguised as “science” frequently get waylaid by the free range and organic eggs labeling on egg cartons.
The truth is that buying organic, free range eggs from the supermarket or healthfood store is no guarantee that the birds lived a healthy life. What’s more, the eggs may not even be that nutrient dense. You’re safer buying duck eggs or goose eggs as these types of birds are more resistant to industrialized living. Even when domesticated, they eat more closely to their native diet than chickens.
Let’s take a look at why organic chicken eggs are a scam.
Organic Eggs Reality Check #1
Did you know that there are no requirements for the quality or amount of time spent outside for organic eggs or even free range eggs? This means that organic eggs could actually be from hens who get basically no bugs in their diet from pecking in the ground. If the hens don’t get to peck around in the ground for grubs and insects, the eggs they produce will have drastically reduced nutritional value – organic or not.
Organic Eggs Reality Check #2
Did you know that the hens from a free range or organic eggs farm can still have their beaks cut and be subjected to forced molting which involves starving them for 7-14 days which can in some cases kill them?
Organic Eggs Reality Check #3
Organic eggs marked as “cage free” does not mean that the hens have access to the outdoors or even daylight! The hens could actually be running around inside with artificial lighting on a concrete floor and the eggs still qualify as cage free!
The only way to get truly healthy eggs where you can be sure the hens are not abused is to buy local from a farmer you trust, not organic eggs from the store!
There is no way around this folks that I have found. You must start connecting with the people in your community if you really want to source some decent eggs!
Folks in my buying club regularly tell me how shocked they are when they run out of the eggs sourced locally and buy a carton of organic eggs from the store how puny, pathetic and bland tasting they are. They are also incredibly expensive.
Not only will you more than likely save yourself some money buying eggs locally, you will also be helping a local business remain viable and improving the nutrient density of your diet all at the same time!
Organic eggs most definitely does not always mean better!
Need more egg recipes once you’ve found a quality local source? Try these breakfast egg ideas, easy lunch egg recipes, and dinner egg recipes for inspiration!
Below is a fantastic infographic on the reality behind the egg industry created by Kristin Lindquist. What factoids did you find most alarming?
More Information
Best Egg Substitute (plus Video)
Organic Store Eggs Just Don’t Stack Up
What Oxidizes the Cholesterol in Eggs?
Think You Have Fresh Eggs? Here’s How to Tell
Thanks, Jan! Eggs come from CHICKENS! Period!
I get my eggs from a neighbor who raises them on pasture. Haven’t bought eggs from the store in a couple years
I have a problem trusting people who pull up to a farmer’s market and pull food out of cooler and tell you what it is and isn’t – no one is watching them to make sure they’re telling the truth
I understand your apprehension. Though having grown up with a dad who hauled us (all five kids) to sell our fruit at the farmers markets in the Los Angeles area I would tell you strike up a conversation with the farmer or employee of te farmer and get the facts from them. Ask them about there farm, how they grow there fruit, raise their hens etc and if you get a bad vibe walk away and go onto the next farmer. There are some crooks out there at the markets just like in any occupation but I think honestly most people come by it with the right intentions.
In the end If the consumer asks for it the farmers will raise it. We just have to be willing to pay for it. Biggest thing I see is many of speak the right things but won’t pay with our pocket books. Like someone said earlier it costs almost $47 dollars a bag in our local feed store for a bag of soy free, organic feed. Ouch! Especially when all the birds think they should have some too.
Cheers!
My Dad had chickens for a hobby/to get great eggs for many years. So I know the difference of what those type of eggs look like. He let them run all over the place, they ate whatever the beaks could catch. And whatever leftovers we gave them. The egg yolks would be a deep dark orange, unlike any egg yolk I have bought from the store. He would sell the eggs for next to nothing at his work, church, etc. I even heard of a time where one of the friends he sold his eggs to had a child who was allergic to every egg but my dad’s. It is a sad thing these poor chickens do not get to live the life chickens are meant to live. They are smart animals and great for the environment if treated the proper way. I like to buy cage free high omega eggs, but they are still unlike those eggs my dad had. If I did not live in the middle of the city, I would love to raise a few chickens. They would keep the bugs at bay and my lawn would get natural fertilization. 😉
There is no such thing as a wild chicken. Feral chickens are not wild. The genetic makeup of a chicken would not exist if it were not for humans. The phrase “how chickens are meant to live” is inaccurate. They’re not meant to live.
What do you mean, “They aren’t meant to live”? She wasn’t talking about wild chickens, at all and never used the word “feral” once. She was simply saying that chickens deserve to be raised in a way that is natural to them… running around in the sunshine and digging for bugs. Not only is it good for the chickens, but if you plan on eating them or their eggs, it’s good for us, too. Chickens raised in a pastured environment produce eggs with higher amounts of omega 3s than their store-bought counterparts, and the meat from them is tastier and more vitamin-rich, too.
Describe what’s “natural” about an organism thats scientific name is gallus domesticus. There is literally nothing natural about these atrocities created by farmers and scientists because birds shouldn’t be domesticated! These are the equivalent of GMOs
You’re talking nonsense. So what some idiot evolutionist gave them a stupid name like that. They also claim that wales came from hippos (or was it cows? I think they keep changing their minds).
I believe God created some animals that are MEANT to be domestic animals, for people’s use. There have always been chickens, people have been eating eggs forever. It is NORMAL and NATURAL.
You’re confusing selective breeding and genetic modification. There are no GM chickens. You think we should go back to hunting and gathering, fine, that’s your opinion. Have fun stealing robin eggs. If you’re going to attempt to include facts in your comments, though, try to get them right.
Talk about your GMO’s…
I see the trolls are out again…
I love raising my own organic eggs. There is nothing better!
We get ours through a local CSA. You can tell how good they are by their bright orange yolks!!
For what it’s worth, Frenz’s are the only eggs I have ever bought anywhere – store, farmer’s market, or local farm – that consistently have dark orange yolks. But they’re expensive, all the way from New Zealand. And to be honest, I don’t know for certain how they are kept I would like to have my own chickens someday, but can’t yet.
I am having a very difficult time getting eggs that I believe are pastured, based on the color and toughness of the shell. The one’s I get from my csa are definitely NOT the color and toughness of shell that I would expect from truly pastured hens. Any connections in Miami that you or anyone else know of?
I feel for Scarlet. I used to live in Los Angeles and the way I used to buy and eat food was much different. It can be extremely difficult and even though there are many farmer’s markets, they can be crowded and inconvenient in a large, (sub)urban area.
Hi Sarah,
What if your only source of eggs is the organic eggs from the store, is it best to avoid these eggs altogether?