Good morning!
Yay for Spring Equinox! Hello Spring and welcome, welcome. Love winter, but love a change, too. Bring it ON.
A natural part of the spring season is that we are likely to feel more open. It?s a great time to take a look, together, at a food myth that needs some dispelling with a lively, informative Food Sass? discussion!
?What?s the deal with these organic, pasture-raised eggs that you recommend? I looked at some at the health-food store, and they are expensive! Is there really any difference between supermarket eggs and these fancy, expensive eggs? They look exactly the same.?
Great question, and here is the short A to that Q: Yes there is a difference; like night and day. There are organic, pasture-raised eggs, and then everything else: supermarket eggs, organic eggs, free-range eggs, and cage-free eggs. Let?s take a look.
Better for You
Organic, pasture-raised eggs have nutritionally come out on top in studies, with significantly more Vitamin E & A, more beta-carotene (like 7x more!), and double the omega-3 fatty acids for starters. You see, just like us, a chicken?s health?which directly affects their ability to produce healthy offspring (eggs)?is a result of its environment. Environmental influences like food, exercise, happiness, sunshine, stress, and toxins all affect the chicken, and her eggs.
Nutrients Meets Farming Methods
Industrial farming model. This includes supermarket eggs, organic eggs, free-range eggs, and cage-free eggs (brilliant marketing terms). If you are a chicken, standing in a tiny cage with 4 other chickens, amid cages stacked as far and wide as the eye can see in a dark industrial building OR standing nose to tail with 100,000 chickens in a dark warehouse (cage-free!), you are a sad chicken. You never see sunlight, you eat GMO soy and corn meal (be afraid!), and you can?t even turn around because of over-crowding. You have no choices to meet your needs. You are stressed-out, nutrient-deficient, and sickly; you die young; and you make inferior eggs with pale yellow yolks.
Conscious farming model. This includes organic, pasture-raised eggs. If you are a chicken, running about in grass when you feel like it, or going into an enclosed structure when you feel like it, you are a happy chicken. You get plenty of sunshine and fresh air and you eat your intended diet of seeds, grass, insects, and worms. You have choices to meet your needs. You are relaxed, nutrient-rich, and healthy; you live a good life; and you make amazing, nutrient-dense eggs with dark orange yolks.
Cost versus Value
A dozen organic, pasture-raised eggs can cost $4-7, depending on your source. You?ll pay way more for them at a fancy health food store than you will at a farm. But even at $6 a dozen. REALLY?!? This is an issue?! I know, I know?it SEEMS costly when you compare it to your $1.79 supermarket dozen. But let?s look at this through a different lens.
Many people pay $5 a day for coffee, or spend $5 on a beer. And one dinner?s worth of beef (protein, like eggs) can cost way more than $6. But that $6 of eggs is 6-12 servings! I am SUPER excited to be getting a nutrient-dense, uber-bio-available protein source in my meal for only $1 (for 2 eggs). I promise you that, from every angle, this is WISE spending and a great VALUE.
I also highly recommend you take 6 minutes to watch THIS incredibly well-done PBS video, regarding eggs. It?s a game-changer!
The food you eat builds your body, every day, for better or for worse.? Make choices for health!
With love & eggsellence,
Laurie
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