Picture this: you’re walking through the grocery store, browsing through the aisles. You come to the eggs and look at all the options before you: cage-free, free-range, organic, pasture raised, and just plain old “grade A.”  You notice that the grade A eggs are only $1.50, while the pasture raised eggs are $4.99! Why in the world should you spend so much extra money for those pasture-raised eggs? What do all these labels REALLY mean?

Let’s face it. Chickens do not naturally eat tons of corn and soy and sit in mud. Chickens are meant to graze freely, eating a variety of grasses, bugs, and wild flowers. The saying “you are what you eat,” is completely true. All those nutrients from the plants and insects that chickens naturally consume make the chickens very healthy. Then when we eat the eggs of the chicken, those eggs contain very high amounts of nutrients because that chicken ate and lived as it was meant to naturally. Grade A conventional eggs come from chickens that live in cages with no access to sunshine or grass. They are given antibiotics and often hormones in their food to fatten them up. They do not eat grass, or bugs, but instead are fed a diet of GMO corn or soy that has been sprayed with poisonous chemicals to keep bugs away. It takes tons of water and resources to grow these GMO crops, and they are used to fatten up all kinds of livestock--not just chickens. The eggs that come from these inhumanly raised chickens are far less nutrient dense, and of course are made up of everything the chicken ate. 

The effects of toxic chemicals sprayed on chicken food, and the unnatural presence of the corn and soy in the chicken’s diet does carry over to consumers. Over time, pesticides cause cancer and neurotoxic effects in our bodies, and the toxins from the hormones and antibiotics damage our gut microbiome. It is so important that we choose pasture-raised eggs whenever possible--it is worth every extra penny. Pasture raised means that the chickens spent their lives naturally in grassy fields--eating bugs, wild plants, and everything in between. Not only do we get the most nutrients out of eating their eggs, but the chickens lived humane, happy lives. So next time you go grocery shopping, invest in your health, and the health of the planet. Buy pasture raised eggs!

Emma Hertzberg, August 2020