EITHERf all foods I buy regularly, the price of eggs vary more. They can cost two dollars for 18 or seven whole American dollars for a dozen—a fairly large discrepancy for a fairly basic food.
Egg cartons have a lot of words printed everywhere, and the presence of Some It seems to affect the price of eggs inside more than others—particularly “organic” and “countryside”. You can read all about what those words really mean hereBut even with that knowledge, it can be hard to tell if the more expensive eggs are “worth it,” especially if you’re trying to feed yourself or your family. family in a budget.
Are expensive eggs better for you?
To truly answer that question, you would have to run a lab study comparing all the different brands of eggs on the shelf. I personally don’t have time for thator access to a laboratory)but this recent article of the CBC Marketplace provides some interesting data points to consider:
Market He randomly purchased two boxes each of various types of eggs from 14 grocery store brands in the Greater Toronto Area. In all, the team sent 29 dozen eggs to an accredited food science lab to test for cholesterol, protein and omega-3 levels, as well as vitamins A, D and E.
Omega-3 fatty acid levels were consistently higher in organic eggs:
In all cases, the organic eggs had higher levels of omega-3s compared to their conventional counterparts. There was an average of 0.13 g of omega-3s per large organic egg compared to about 0.05 g for conventional eggs.
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But with that exception, “organic” eggs, particularly from large producers, didn’t guarantee a more nutritious egg, especially in comparison to conventional eggs from the same brand:
On average, there were also no large differences between the cheaper conventional eggs and the more expensive organic ones that are sold by the same brands…In fact, in some cases the conventional eggs had higher levels of some vitamins than their organic counterparts. This was the case for Burnbrae Naturegg organic eggs when compared to Burnbrae’s cheaper Prestige eggs, and the Loblaw President’s Choice Organics eggs compared to Loblaw No Name eggs. When it came to Sobeys Compliments eggs, there was more vitamin E in the conventional than in the organic, but LH Gray’s Organic GoldEgg had more vitamin D than the cheaper Gray Ridge Premium eggs.
None of the named brands are sold in the United States, but this data suggests an organic label on a carton of eggs is no guarantee the chickens that laid them were fed a more nutritious diet. In Canada and the United States, an “organic” label doesn’t necessarily dictate what the type of food a chicken has access to.
According to organicconsumers.org, the USDA “National Organic Program” requires organic eggs “come from chickens raised without cages, fed an organic diet grown without pesticides, handled without antibiotics or hormones, and given seasonal access to the outdoors.”
In Canada, “Organic eggs come from hens raised in a free-range system with access to the outdoors. These hens are fed certified organic feed and the farmers follow the Canadian Organic Standards regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.”
No specific country than chickens must be fed so that their eggs are certifiedjust that everything they eat should band “grown without pesticides”. There is no guarantee the The chickens were fed with the type of varied and nutritious diet could translate to plus nutritious eggs.
The size of the farm seems to matter more than the organic label
A large part of running a business involvesIt’s cutting costs while maximizing profits, and big business tends to be particularly ruthless about it. Organic labels don’t tell us much about the quality of life of an individual chicken or access a varied diet. Flock size and access to outdoor space appear to have a more direct effect on nutrition, and the CBC Marketplace study found eggs from smaller farms were more nutritious overall:
Organic eggs from small farms had an average of 3.25 mg of vitamin E per large egg, which is about 20 percent of the recommended daily value. Organic eggs from big brands had an average of 2.16 mg of vitamin E. The level of vitamin D in organic eggs from small farms averaged 31.65 IU, which is about five percent of the value. recommended daily. In large brand organic eggs, this average was 20.50 IU.
The small farm organic eggs also had about a gram more protein per large egg than eggs sold by the larger brands and had slightly less cholesterol.
What does this all mean?
Paying more for eggs doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting a more nutritious egg, especially if you’re buying organic eggs from big companies. Eggs from smaller farms are likely to be more nutritious because hens are more likely to enjoy a more varied nutritious diet and they are more likely to hatch (and maybe enjoy a worm or two), and this usually translates to “better” eggs. (And the most expensive.)
A pasture-raised egg is more likely to be more nutritious than a super-cheap farm-raised egg, but even the cheapest egg contains protein and vitamins, and eating a couple of eggs, no matter how cheap, is rarely a bad choice, from a health standpoint (a unless you are really controlling your cholesterol level).I suppose).
I am thereIt’s not ethical consumption under capitalism, but I still try to buy eggs from vendors who treat their chickens as carefully as possible (this dashboard it is useful in that regard), and I have found that the yolks of thewill eggs tend to taste richer than those in super cheap eggs, even when mixed in recipes I like it this mashed potatoes either Homemade Mayonnaise.
If you really want to get the “best” eggs available, do some research, conduct Do some taste testing and choose an egg that suits your palate and budget. Just don’t assume “organic” means “better for you,” especially if your organic eggs arrived of a massive company mega-farm.
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