I had a friend with chicken houses. A chain grocery came to her saying they’d pay more for her eggs if they could call them “cage free”, I think it was… All she had to do was cut a door into her chicken houses about every 20’, and open them, daily.
The issue was, only the 10-20 hens out of thousands were brave enough to venture outside, and only the ones really CLOSE to the doors ever knew they existed! Baby chicks are literally “chicken” about everything unless their mama shows them things are ok. Therefore, bc all these chicks are brought in at once, same basic age, not a mama in sight, most are too chicken or too far away to venture outside. SO sad! Of the roughly 3000 hens per house, maybe 100-200 got out for awhile every day, to get sunlight and perhaps a weed or bug. Hardly healthy or humane, and hardly worth the extra $$, but that’s what the store wanted and sells.
I have 4 darling hens. Three lay eggs almost daily even in winter. One, Henifer Anniston, is worthless and doesn’t lay, OR she lays where I can’t find it! She’s very sweet, though, so I overlook her bad work ethic. They are out all day and climb back into their coop, with roosting bars— every night. It makes me happy knowing they have a GOOD life, plenty of grass, weeds and bugs, plus good leftovers, fruits & veg, and good feed. Their favorite things after bugs are cheese, blueberries and noodles. Their yolks are downright ORANGE compared to grocery store eggs which have almost butter colored, pale yellow yolks.
I wish no he ever had to live its entire life in a cage, or stuffed into a hen house with 3000 others.
The article says that linoleic acid is a healthy fat - it’s not… it is the worst fat! It’s an omega-6 fatty acid & we eat way too much of it.
The study did indeed find that linoleic acid was higher in pasture-raised eggs, but AlterAI says the opposite & that would make sense. Feed grain, even organic, is high in LA, whereas pasture-raised chickens eat more than feed grain.
Much valuable info. EXCEPT, linoleic acid is not a "healthy fat". On the contrary, it is the most harmful substance in vegetable oils, causing chronic illness, dementia not least, and takes 6-7 years to clear from the body. Where did you get this one from??
Because I can’t possibly keep up with the sneaky stuff the USDA, FDA
and manufacturers attempt, I rely on the Cornucopia newsletter to keep up. They do ‘report cards’ on organically produced dairy and animal products. Clearly show ‘factory farm’ organics or what I call ‘faux organics’ and it’s all free! Helps me stay on top of things. They have charts on who owns what company (quite incestuous) so you can tell who you are really supporting!
Thank you , you left off 'certified restorative' and 'cornucopia institute'.
Also there is another rating:
'Certified Organic' CCOF with 'Organic is non-GMO & More'
CCOF certifies Organic rating.
The more stressed out the hens are, the less nutritious the eggs are and actually they can become toxic.
Restaurants cut corners and always buy cheapest eggs. Very few say 'cage free' and even fewer say Organic.
The chain restaurants have their eggs mass prepared so that they avoid cracking shells and then those egg dishes really dont taste very good when they use gmo soy oil and soy margarine which they don't tell you is margarine, not butter.
The presence of soy in the chicken feed, organic or not, can make a huge difference for some people. I am allergic to soy so I only buy organic pasture-raised soy-free eggs. Allergies to eggs or to egg whites (more common) are really allergies to soy I believe.
Many egg allergies are also due to childhood vaccines and other vaccines. They grow certain cells for shots in egg protein, peanut protein and, believe it or not, cells from aborted human fetuses.
Since they started using these as ingredients for vaccines, allergies to eggs, peanuts and autoimmune issues have skyrocketed. I believe autoimmune issues exist largely bc there are fragments of DNA in every vial
of vaccines. If you basically have even a tiny fraction of a BODY, and you’re telling the injectee’s BODY to mount a defense against, say, polio, youre also telling your body to mount a defense to… everything else in the vial, including eggs, peanuts and the body. VOILA! Autoimmune issues!!
I used to consider myself a chicken rancher...me and my 5 pet chickens. If I had space, I would love to have chickens again, but reading this raises some questions for me. Pasture-raised sounds great, but how do they keep predators from stealing their birds?
thats what I had to do, given the interest of chicken hawks and owls. But I had to restrict their outdoor area as a result. They had good space, but I doubt it was over 100sq feet or so they recommended in one of the comments.
This was very detailed but written confusingly. I always buy organic free range. But now I don't know if that is the most ethical choice. The most helpful part is the labels.
I think it is worth the money, and availability isn't an issue where I live. So pasture-raised is better than free range. I thought they were the same thing. All very deceitful. Why does it all have to be so complicated to do the right thing?
"(Unless they've figured a way to trick that, too)"
They have, but as far as I know, the additives to chicken feed that produces that bright orange yolk, are still healthy for all concerned. When I let my chickens out o the coop in the morning, one of the first things they do is gobble some grass. Good old grass is one of their favorite and most healthful foods. Unfortunately, a foot or more of snow is now covering the grass here in SC Wisconsin.
Thank you, you're an awesome journalist providing truths to the ignorant. This is a great article. I prefer organic from my local farmers market, where I know the farmer. Thanks again.
We have farmers markets in my area where one can buy anything that a farmer or rancher has grown or raised from that farm or ranch. Even have a rancher owned butcher shop that will even dress out wild game an individual has properly tagged.
Yeah, me too. I live right in the centre of London. I get all my meat straight from the very ancient Smithfield Meat Market. Eggs, raw milk, straight from farmers market. Old school is best. There is seldom a time when it isn't.
I had a friend with chicken houses. A chain grocery came to her saying they’d pay more for her eggs if they could call them “cage free”, I think it was… All she had to do was cut a door into her chicken houses about every 20’, and open them, daily.
The issue was, only the 10-20 hens out of thousands were brave enough to venture outside, and only the ones really CLOSE to the doors ever knew they existed! Baby chicks are literally “chicken” about everything unless their mama shows them things are ok. Therefore, bc all these chicks are brought in at once, same basic age, not a mama in sight, most are too chicken or too far away to venture outside. SO sad! Of the roughly 3000 hens per house, maybe 100-200 got out for awhile every day, to get sunlight and perhaps a weed or bug. Hardly healthy or humane, and hardly worth the extra $$, but that’s what the store wanted and sells.
I have 4 darling hens. Three lay eggs almost daily even in winter. One, Henifer Anniston, is worthless and doesn’t lay, OR she lays where I can’t find it! She’s very sweet, though, so I overlook her bad work ethic. They are out all day and climb back into their coop, with roosting bars— every night. It makes me happy knowing they have a GOOD life, plenty of grass, weeds and bugs, plus good leftovers, fruits & veg, and good feed. Their favorite things after bugs are cheese, blueberries and noodles. Their yolks are downright ORANGE compared to grocery store eggs which have almost butter colored, pale yellow yolks.
I wish no he ever had to live its entire life in a cage, or stuffed into a hen house with 3000 others.
The article says that linoleic acid is a healthy fat - it’s not… it is the worst fat! It’s an omega-6 fatty acid & we eat way too much of it.
The study did indeed find that linoleic acid was higher in pasture-raised eggs, but AlterAI says the opposite & that would make sense. Feed grain, even organic, is high in LA, whereas pasture-raised chickens eat more than feed grain.
Much valuable info. EXCEPT, linoleic acid is not a "healthy fat". On the contrary, it is the most harmful substance in vegetable oils, causing chronic illness, dementia not least, and takes 6-7 years to clear from the body. Where did you get this one from??
Cornucopia does a good work on eggs, they even do a scoreboard card. You might check them out as well, for a good resource
Thanks for that. I hadn't heard of it before.
The eggs I get are 4-egg rated.
I looked and didn't see any 5-egg brands that I've seen in this area, so I think I'm as good as it gets. (without raising my own...now space for that)
I'm in SoCal, and can get a 5-egg rated. It's the only egg I can eat and not get a migraine.....it's soy/corn FREE.
Because I can’t possibly keep up with the sneaky stuff the USDA, FDA
and manufacturers attempt, I rely on the Cornucopia newsletter to keep up. They do ‘report cards’ on organically produced dairy and animal products. Clearly show ‘factory farm’ organics or what I call ‘faux organics’ and it’s all free! Helps me stay on top of things. They have charts on who owns what company (quite incestuous) so you can tell who you are really supporting!
Thank you , you left off 'certified restorative' and 'cornucopia institute'.
Also there is another rating:
'Certified Organic' CCOF with 'Organic is non-GMO & More'
CCOF certifies Organic rating.
The more stressed out the hens are, the less nutritious the eggs are and actually they can become toxic.
Restaurants cut corners and always buy cheapest eggs. Very few say 'cage free' and even fewer say Organic.
The chain restaurants have their eggs mass prepared so that they avoid cracking shells and then those egg dishes really dont taste very good when they use gmo soy oil and soy margarine which they don't tell you is margarine, not butter.
One thing that was not mentioned: soy.
The presence of soy in the chicken feed, organic or not, can make a huge difference for some people. I am allergic to soy so I only buy organic pasture-raised soy-free eggs. Allergies to eggs or to egg whites (more common) are really allergies to soy I believe.
Many egg allergies are also due to childhood vaccines and other vaccines. They grow certain cells for shots in egg protein, peanut protein and, believe it or not, cells from aborted human fetuses.
Since they started using these as ingredients for vaccines, allergies to eggs, peanuts and autoimmune issues have skyrocketed. I believe autoimmune issues exist largely bc there are fragments of DNA in every vial
of vaccines. If you basically have even a tiny fraction of a BODY, and you’re telling the injectee’s BODY to mount a defense against, say, polio, youre also telling your body to mount a defense to… everything else in the vial, including eggs, peanuts and the body. VOILA! Autoimmune issues!!
Bingo !!!
Excellent!
EGGcellent!!! 😉
It was discovered that vaccinated mice acquired allergies to plant pollen that were blooming at the time those vaccines were given.
I remember, I think it was in the 90's, that there were an awful lot of young people that had allergies to many things. Now I understand why.
I used to consider myself a chicken rancher...me and my 5 pet chickens. If I had space, I would love to have chickens again, but reading this raises some questions for me. Pasture-raised sounds great, but how do they keep predators from stealing their birds?
netting ?
thats what I had to do, given the interest of chicken hawks and owls. But I had to restrict their outdoor area as a result. They had good space, but I doubt it was over 100sq feet or so they recommended in one of the comments.
This was very detailed but written confusingly. I always buy organic free range. But now I don't know if that is the most ethical choice. The most helpful part is the labels.
If you can afford to go organic pasture-raised, it would be a notch up.
But affordability and availability can be an issue.
I agree with those that know their farmer. That's best. But not an option for many.
I think it is worth the money, and availability isn't an issue where I live. So pasture-raised is better than free range. I thought they were the same thing. All very deceitful. Why does it all have to be so complicated to do the right thing?
As it says in the article, some of these terms aren't regulated.
In the end...the deeper orange the yolk, the better things are!
(Unless they've figured a way to trick that, too)
"(Unless they've figured a way to trick that, too)"
They have, but as far as I know, the additives to chicken feed that produces that bright orange yolk, are still healthy for all concerned. When I let my chickens out o the coop in the morning, one of the first things they do is gobble some grass. Good old grass is one of their favorite and most healthful foods. Unfortunately, a foot or more of snow is now covering the grass here in SC Wisconsin.
Crazy hives from non organic fed indoor eggs.
Buy from local organic farm. No hives.
Thank you, you're an awesome journalist providing truths to the ignorant. This is a great article. I prefer organic from my local farmers market, where I know the farmer. Thanks again.
thank you!
One theory is that arthritis is transmitted via factory laid eggs from chickens confined in cages.
Is it beyond people to buy straight off the farmer?
We have farmers markets in my area where one can buy anything that a farmer or rancher has grown or raised from that farm or ranch. Even have a rancher owned butcher shop that will even dress out wild game an individual has properly tagged.
I live in the south in the USA.
Yeah, me too. I live right in the centre of London. I get all my meat straight from the very ancient Smithfield Meat Market. Eggs, raw milk, straight from farmers market. Old school is best. There is seldom a time when it isn't.
Old school is best.
Couldn’t agree more !!!
I would if we had one near enough.
My husband and I go through 2 or 3 dozen a week.
Ah, sweet mystery of life, at last I've found thee
Ah! I know at last the secret of it all
All the longing, seeking, striving, waiting, yearning
The burning hopes, the joy and idle tears that fall
For 'tis love and love alone the world is seeking
And 'tis love and love alone that can repay
'Tis the answer, 'tis the end and all of living
For it is love alone that rules for aye
(Instrumental break)
For 'tis love and love alone the world is seeking
And 'tis love and love alone that can repay
'Tis the answer, 'tis the end and all of living
For it is love alone that rules for aye
THANK YOU FOR THIS POST. ALL KIDDING ASIDE, THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE MORE THAN PERPLEXING IN 2025. THIS IS ONE OF THEM.