Back in the day, the only decision to be made when purchasing eggs was whether to get small, medium or large.  Now the egg display at my local grocery store has tripled in size with many different brands offering various types of eggs.  With options ranging from pastured, free-range, cage-free, vegetarian, soy free, organic and conventional it becomes overwhelming and difficult to choose.  Here’s how to select the best eggs: 

·     Best Choice: Pasture-Raised

Look for words Pasture-Raised – These are the BEST eggs to buy. Pastured chickens live in their natural environment and eat grass, bugs, lizards, and worms. Their eggs not only taste better but are also more nutritious.

A pastured egg is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, especially the yolk. Eggs are high in protein, iron, selenium, choline, riboflavin, phosphorus, and vitamins A, E, and K2.  The yolk is where the nutrients, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory agents are most abundant so please eat the whole egg.

·     2nd Choice: Organic

If you can’t find pastured eggs, for example in the wintertime when chickens don’t produce much, USDA certified organic eggs are the next best option. Organic eggs come from chickens that consume pesticide-free feed and have some access to the outdoors, making for a decent second choice.

·     3rd Choice: Omega-3

Another popular egg label is “omega-3,” indicating that supplemental omega-3 fatty acids were added to the animal’s feed. While a pasture-raised animal consuming natural sources of omega-3 is superior, this type of labeling indicates that the grower was at least interested in maximizing the nutritional benefits of their product.

·     Conventional & Other Labels

Conventionally raised (factory farmed) chickens are generally treated poorly, resulting in chronically stressed chickens.  They are usually kept in small cages without enough room to walk or spread their wings.  The dense population of birds makes it easier for infections to spread.  They are fed a grain, seed and soy diet and are likely exposed to hormones, pesticides, and antibiotics.  Eggs from conventionally raised chickens can have a much lower nutritional value than eggs from pasture-raised chickens who eat their natural omnivorous diet and get fresh air and adequate sunlight.

 Although labels such as “cage-free,” “free-range” or “vegetarian” have minimal significant meaning or guidelines backing them, they do provide some indication that health issues were taken into consideration when producing the eggs.  

For example, “cage-free” is certainly a better option than a carton with no such labeling. Although “cage-free” basically means the birds have never been confined in a cage, the housing density at many of these farms may be so high that some of the problems associated with caging are still experienced.

“Free range” sounds good, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the chickens were free to forage in wide open spaces.   It just means that these chickens had “limited access” to the outdoors which could simply be a small patch of dirt that the chickens may not even have taken advantage of.  Free-range chickens are still fed the same grain, seed and soy diet that conventionally raised chickens are.

As far as the “vegetarian” label is concerned, well, chickens aren’t vegetarians, they are omnivores.  This means that they can and should eat a diet that contains both plants as well as animal proteins.

Summary

Eggs are very nutritious and one of the best protein sources available.  Better quality eggs will cost more. But even the most expensive eggs you can buy will generally be under $10 per dozen, making them less than a dollar each. And when you consider the nutrition you get from eggs, particularly pasture-raised eggs–which will generally have more omega-3, vitamin A, D, and K than eggs from factory farms–ounce for ounce, eggs are one of the best food investments you can make.  Even if you choose conventional, eating a less-than-perfect egg is still a good option when it comes to the big picture of food choices.