“Meet Real Free-Range Eggs” from Mother Earth News
March 20, 2009
A neighbor of ours just brought us a copy of the Oct/Nov. 2007 Mother Earth News article about free-range eggs. Mother Earth News set up a testing project: how do eggs from hens raised on pasture compare to the official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs?
Their result? “. . . eggs from hens allowed to peck on pasture are a heck of a lot better than those from chickens raised in cages!”
The pastured eggs may contain:
1/3 less cholesterol
¼ less saturated fat
2/3 more vitamin A
2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
3 times more vitamin E
7 times more beta carotene
These amazing results come from 14 flocks around the country that range freely on pasture or are housed in moveable pens that are rotated frequently.
Pastured chickens eat a chicken’s natural diet – seeds, green plants, insects and worms (usually along with laying mash).
Factory farm birds never even see the outdoors. “Allowed access to the outside” is how the USDA defines the “free-range”. This inadequate definition means that producers can, and do, label their eggs as “free-range” even if all they do is leave little doors open on their giants sheds, regardless of whether the birds ever learn to go outside, and regardless of whether there is good pasture or just bare dirt or concrete outside of those doors.
Know what you are buying. Insist on eggs from organically fed hens that are pastured for a nutrient dense food that is simply amazing.
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Omega 3 oil can really help your heart and arteries so take a sip of it regularly.-`-