Eggs: Cage-free, Free-Range, Pasture-Raised and Organic

Hmmm…. Can you tell the difference between these two eggs?  Let’s see, the one on the right is from the cheapest carton of eggs you can buy at the store.  The one on the left is from my Dad and Step-Mom’s house in Wisconsin where they let their chickens run free (pasture raised).  Why is the cheap egg such a light-colored yellow while the free-range chicken egg looks dark, rich and full of nutrients?  And the taste!  You can’t even compare them in my book.  The free-range egg is so flavorful.  When you taste it, you suddenly realize that you really haven’t actually tasted a real egg your whole life – you realize what you have been missing!

Do you ever get overwhelmed at the store with all of the different eggs they have for sale these days?  So do I.  So I wanted to do a little digging and try and get some clarity.

Organic Egg: Has more to do with what the Chicken eats (organic feed) and also whether they receive antibiotics and/or vaccines.

Cage Free: Chickens can still kept in close quarters, but are not confined to a tiny little cage.  They are usually kept in an open area barn.

Free Range: Chickens are allowed the opportunity to go outside, although duration and quality may vary.

Pasture Raised: Chickens spend the majority of their days outdoors and typically only sleep inside at night.

The egg on the left in the picture above is definitely from a pasture raised chicken.

So how does the pasture raised egg match up to a cage-free egg?

Left: “cheap egg”                  Middle: Pasture raised                  Right: Cage Free

I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between the “cheap egg” and the cage-free egg.  They looked the same, although the cage-free egg was brown, while the “cheap egg” was white.  The pasture raised eggs came in various shades of brown and a multitude of shapes and sizes.  Both the “cheap egg” and cage-free egg came in uniform shaped eggs.

It all just makes you wonder.  I get the fact that there are so many people in this world that the industrialization of food was inevitable (and good in many ways), but doing this little experiment made it ever-so evident that we are also very clearly losing a lot of the “good stuff” out of food; not really tasting our food or thinking about where it comes from.  When you use the best products your food tastes a million times better and nourishes our body is many wonderful ways. When animals are treated poorly and fed junk and injected with chemicals, that trickles down to then also affect us, our bodies, our minds, our children.

Okay, you say, I will only buy pasture-raised eggs!  And then you look at the price tag.  I swear I saw a carton of organic, pasture-raised eggs for about $6-$7! Say what!  The cost of healthy food is a whole other discussion (or whole other blog topic), but it is so true!  I am not saying I have the answer…. but man, I hope some day I do!  What would the world be like if everyone could eat foods that didn’t have a multitude of chemicals or other ingredients I can’t even pronounce.  Would we all be happier and healthier?

Next time you are standing in front of the egg section of your grocery store, I am not asking or telling you to buy a different/more expensive type, but maybe just take an extra moment to think about it.  And I hope you get the chance to taste the experience of eating a pasture-raised egg…. it really is life-changing.

Stay tuned….. so that you can see what this picture is all about….

(Sources: The Humane Society ; WebMD ; USDA)