Home Raised Eggs Offer Superior Nutrition
Most of the eggs currently sold in supermarkets are nutritionally inferior to eggs produced by hens raised on pasture and in backyards across the country. That’s the conclusion of a 2007 Mother Earth News egg testing project. The testing found that, compared to official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs, eggs from hens raised on pasture contain:
• 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
These amazing results come from egg samples collected from 14 flocks around the country that range freely on pasture or are housed in portable chicken coops that are rotated frequently to maximize access to fresh pasture and protect the birds from predators. The Mother Earth News research team sampled six eggs from each of the 14 pastured flocks tested by an accredited laboratory in Portland, Ore. The egg samples were analyzed for nutrient content and then those results were compared with the official egg nutrient data from the USDA for “conventional” (i.e. factory hens) eggs.
These dramatically differing nutrient levels are most likely the result of the different diets of birds that produce these two types of eggs. True free-range birds eat a chicken’s natural diet — all kinds of seeds, green plants, insects and worms, usually along with grain or formulated chicken feed. Factory farm birds never even see the outdoors, let alone get to forage for their natural diet. Instead they are fed the cheapest possible mixture of corn, soy and/or cottonseed meals, with all kinds of additives, supplements, growth hormones and antibiotics to stave off sickness caused by overcrowded living conditions.
The conventional egg industry wants very much to deny that free-range/pastured eggs are better than eggs from birds kept in crowded, inhumane indoor conditions. A statement on the American Egg Board’s Web site says “True free-range eggs are those produced by hens raised outdoors or that have daily access to the outdoors.”
The problem lies in their definition of “true free-range.” The USDA isn’t helping consumers learn the truth, either: “Allowed access to the outside” is how the USDA defines “free-range.” This inadequate definition means that producers can, and do, label their eggs as “free-range” even if all they do is leave little doors open on their giant sheds, regardless of whether the birds ever learn to go outside, and regardless of whether there is good pasture or just bare dirt or concrete outside those doors.
Both organizations need to come clean. True free-range eggs are those from hens that range outdoors on pasture, which means they can do what’s natural — forage for all manner of green plants and insects.
As many Americans are learning, pastured chickens can be raised easily right in their own back yard. Pastured eggs are also readily available at local farm stands and farmers markets, or sometimes at the supermarket. (Tell the store manager you want eggs from pastured hens, and encourage the manager to contact local producers.)
Mounting Evidence:
Here’s some more evidence that eggs produced by pasture raised or backyard hens are far superior to conventional, mass farmed eggs:
• In 1974, the British Journal of Nutrition found that pastured eggs had 50 percent more folic acid and 70 percent more vitamin B12 than eggs from factory farm hens.
• In 1988, Artemis Simopoulos, co-author of The Omega Diet, found pastured eggs in Greece contained 13 times more omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids than U.S. commercial eggs.
• A 1998 study in Animal Feed Science and Technology found that pastured eggs had higher omega-3s and vitamin E than eggs from caged hens.
• A 1999 study by Barb Gorski at Pennsylvania State University found that eggs from pastured birds had 10 percent less fat, 34 percent less cholesterol, 40 percent more vitamin A, and four times the omega-3s compared to the standard USDA data. Her study also tested pastured chicken meat, and found it to have 21 percent less fat, 30 percent less saturated fat and 50 percent more vitamin A than the USDA standard.
• In 2003, Heather Karsten at Pennsylvania State University compared eggs from two groups of Hy-Line variety hens, with one kept in standard crowded factory farm conditions and the other on mixed grass and legume pasture. The eggs had similar levels of fat and cholesterol, but the pastured eggs had three times more omega-3s, 220 percent more vitamin E and 62 percent more vitamin A than eggs from caged hens.
• The 2005 study Mother Earth News conducted of four heritage-breed pastured flocks in Kansas found that pastured eggs had roughly half the cholesterol, 50 percent more vitamin E, and three times more beta carotene.
We at Handcrafted Chicken Coops exist to support urban and backyard chicken farmers in raising nutrient-rich eggs and healthy hens. Our portable chicken coops are the perfect solution for raising nutritious eggs and healthy backyard hens. Click here to learn more about our Handcrafted Portable Chicken Coops
For more information on the Mother Earth News 2007 test results: go here
