THE YOLK'S ON US

I like eggs, especially those produced by chickens and flying fish. Buying chicken eggs (I'll just say "eggs" for the rest of this post) has gotten to be a confusing conundrum. There are many brands of eggs, and within each brand are white and brown and free range and cage free and pasture raised and hormone free and GMO free and.....you've seen it.

What does it all mean? I'll summarize it for you.

Here is a graphic to help:

Cage free (a USDA defined term) means the hens are not kept in cages. They might be, probably are, in a huge barn and have at least 1 square foot (sf) of space each.

Free range (USDA) means the hens have access to an outdoor space of at least 2 sf each; however, the outdoor space might be a dirt, concrete or other surface, with or without a bit of grass, and most hens probably never go out there.

Pasture raised (not regulated by USDA) means the hens spend time outdoors in a real pasture, and have access to indoor space when they want it.

Other things you will see on egg carton labels:

Brown vs. white eggs: there is no difference in taste or nutrition. Different breeds of chickens lay different color eggs.

Non-GMO Project Verified: the chicken feed does not contain any ingredients that are genetically modified.

Certified Humane Raised & Handled: the facility is certified to use humane practices, and certain standards have to be met, such as a minimum of 1-1/2 ft of space for cage free raised hens instead of at least 1 sf.

Organic: the chicken feed ingredients are certified organic.

Vegetarian Fed: this one amazes me; chickens are not vegetarians, they are omnivores.

Omega-3: the chicken feed contains certain ingredients that boost the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids in the egg yolks; however, the amount is only slightly more than regular eggs, not enough to meet any recommended daily amount, and other sources of Omega-3 are less expensive per unit.

Corn and soy free: I have no idea what this is about, and I'm afraid to research it.

There are more items found on egg carton labels than what I've listed here, but this is a good start. I recently decided to try to buy local, pasture raised eggs if they are available. There is one brand of eggs labeled "pasture raised" and displayed prominently in our local food store chain that is not local (I think they are from Texas), which means the environmental cost of transporting them here (big refrigerated trucks) makes them a poor choice for me. One store we shop has pasture raised eggs from a local farm, and they are my first choice. These eggs cost a lot more than the regular cage free or free range, but at $10/dozen (or a bit less), or 83 cents an egg, I think they are a bargain. And I picture the hens roaming around a pasture, eating bugs and worms and spiders and plants....they are probably fed some mixture of grain, too. One of these days I'm going to stop in at that farm and see exactly how the hens are raised, just out of curiosity. The farm is a small operation (I looked at it on Google maps) and probably produces a small number of eggs per day, which is why we only see them in one of the stores of the chain we shop (New Seasons Market). And that's a good thing, in my opinion.

Happy fried, scrambled, boiled and omelette egg eating! (And don't forget the tobiko, or flying fish eggs, on your next batch of sushi.)
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