Are Organic Free-Range Eggs Really Healthier For You?

 

sixpackabworkouts

What’s the big deal about organic, free-range eggs? Is there some sort of taste improvement in the eggs? Are they healthier? They certainly cost a heck of a lot more. Is it worth it to pay twice as much just so chickens have more satisfactory lives?

There are several qualifiers you'll see on the packages of these eggs: organic, hormone-free, and free-range are three common phrases you'll encounter. You need to understand what these qualifiers mean to understand why the eggs cost more.

The term "organic" means the chickens were fed organic feed, or feed produced without pesticides, which means you won't get undesirable chemicals in the eggs you eat. This is what you're paying for when you buy organic eggs: you're paying for freedom from worry of the impact of pesticides and other chemicals on the eggs you're ingesting. If you buy eggs that say they are hormone-free, you're buying eggs produced by chickens who were not injected with hormones that make them produce extra eggs and resist disease. Many people are concerned about the health impact of these hormones, especially on young girls, so you are paying to get natural eggs, unfettered by hormones.

If you buy a package of eggs that is labeled free-range, you are buying eggs produced by chickens raised in an environment where they can stretch their legs a bit, instead of one of those hen houses where thousands of chickens are crammed into cages and never see the light of day. The chickens who are raised in the commercial henhouses are restricted to a tiny cage where they get no exercise and are in close contact with other chickens, so disease spreads easily there. The bottom line is you are paying for the chickens to live good lives if you pay for free-range eggs, but you're also paying for eggs produced by healthier chickens.

But do the eggs taste better? The average person doesn't think they taste different. The determining factors are this: you'll want to by the more expensive eggs if you are concerned about pesticides, hormones, and the health of chickens.