PASTURED EGGS vs. FREE RANGE EGGS - How to buy the healthiest organic eggs?
Pastured eggs vs. free range eggs? What's the difference?
SUPERMARKET EGGS:
The chickens are crowded in cages and they don't even have room to move or turn around. They're on antibiotics and fed GMO feed. They're sick and very unhealthy. Eggs from these chickens are not nutritious. You would have to eat 5 supermarket eggs to get the same amount of vitamin D from 1 pastured egg.
ORGANIC FREE RANGE EGGS:
These eggs don't come from truly healthy birds. They're not given antibiotics so they are very susceptible to many diseases. These chickens are crowded into large, windowless sheds. They rarely ever go outside so they don't get natural vitamin D from the sun. They don't eat their normal feed, not only grass but also bugs and worms.
ORGANIC PASTURED EGGS:
These eggs come from healthy and happy chickens. They have 5 times more vitamin D than supermarket eggs, more vitamin A, 2x more omega-3 fatty acids, 3x more vitamin E and 7x more beta carotene. It's definitely worth spending few dollars more.
Where to buy healthiest organic pastured eggs?
You can buy at Whole Foods. Unfortunately I didn't see them anywhere else in San Francisco, where I recently moved. In Austin (TX) I could buy these eggs really cheap also at Central Market.
Local Harvest is a pretty great website to find local health food stores and farmer's markets. I will check out the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and let you know how I like it :)
If you have any health food stores and farmer's markets recommendations then please leave them in the comments!
What's the Difference Between Grade AA and Grade A Eggs?
The letter grade depends solely on quality, rather than volume or weight, and a higher grade from the United States Department of Agriculture, which does these inspections, means a higher quality egg. The highest egg grade is AA, followed by A, then B.
According to the USDA guidelines:
- Grade AA egg has “whites that are thick and firm; yolks that are high, round, and practically free from defects; and clean, unbroken shells.”
- Grade A eggs are basically the same as Grade AA except one thing - whites are only “reasonably” firm.
- Grade B eggs can have some staining, and “may be decidedly misshapen or faulty in texture with ridges, thin spots or rough areas.”
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