Eggs: Nutrition Comparison Between Factory Farmed and Free Range

by Heidi Stevenson

5 April 2010

Yesterday was Easter, with its egg symbolism of purity, health, and fertility. Sadly, that's been lost in the last few decades. As yesterday's article documented, eggs are amazing. They're healthy, full of nutrition, and when produced by contented and happy hens, pose no risks. Sadly, though, they've been under attack for fraudulent reasons. It's well past time to tell the truth. Today, we discuss raw eggs and compare battery raised eggs, which have caused such a bad reputation, with the real thing: eggs from pasturized chickens.

Raw Eggs?

One of the fears peddled about eggs is the idea that they are dangerous if eaten raw, because they may contain salmonella. To that, I would suggest that the reason for concern has been created by modern factory farming. Salmonella exists in eggs only when laid by unhealthy chickens. If the hens are disease-free, so are their eggs. So, if you eat eggs produced in factory settings, you're not only supporting some of the worst animal abuses that have ever been promulgated, you're also likely to suffer for it yourself.

Mayonnaise is traditionally made from raw eggs. If it had been dangerous, what is the likelihood that mayonnaise would have become one of the representatives of great French cookery? Look in any serious recipe book for how to make mayonnaise, and you'll find that it always includes raw egg. Enter the words mayonnaise and recipe on a search engine, and you'll see recipe after recipe, all of which use raw eggs. Could mayonnaise be so ubiquitous if it were dangerous?

Do be aware, of course, that modern mayonnaise purchased in supermarkets is not made from raw eggs. That's why it has extra ingredients, such as stabilizers, emulsifiers, and thickeners, which can include:

• Guar or Xanthan Gum: Naturally derived, but so processed by the time it gets to the mayo that it's really nothing more than chemicals.
• Modified Maize (Corn) Starch: This is to thicken the mayo, since it can't happen with cooked eggs. There's a double whammy here. It isn't simply corn starch, but has been processed, which is why the word modified has been added. The other is that nearly all corn used in processed foods is genetically modified by the addition of a gene that acts as a pesticide.
• Carrageenan: Sulphated polysaccharide, extracted from seaweed, used to set the mayo.
• Cellulose: Non-food made from the fibrous parts of plants and trees.
• Polysorbate: Chemical used to control texture in some "foods" and cosmetics.

Stunning, isn't it, what must be added to make mayonnaise because battery raised eggs aren't safe unless cooked?

As a child, my favorite breakfast was my mother's milkshake: milk, raw egg, and fruit quickly mixed in a blender. It was yummy, and never anything but healthy. That was, of course, before the days of battery hens.

It's always possible that an egg from a free range chicken could prove to have salmonella, but those instances are exceedingly rare and far less likely that eating battery-raised eggs. Besides, the benefits of eating healthy eggs from healthy hens extends to your immune system. So, if you normally eat eggs from free range and organically-fed chickens, especially if they're locally sourced, then your body will likely have the ability to fend off salmonella bacteria. If you've been eating eggs from battery hens, then you've been compromising your immune system with antibiotics and other drugs that have gone through the chickens into the eggs.

So, assuming that we're considering only eggs from healthy chickens raised on pastures, are raw eggs better for you? The jury seems to be out on that right now. There is currently a strong movement towards raw foods in general, with Natural News being a major proponent. However, the Weston A. Price Foundation has long been an exceptionally reliable source of information on nutritional issues, and their stance is that cooked eggs are just fine. The Foundation notes accurately that egg whites are healthier when cooked. Raw egg whites have an enzyme inhibitor that can be harmful to digestion. In most people eating no more than two eggs a day, this is normally not a significant problem. However, in larger quantities, it can matter. Also, be aware that raw egg whites are never good for cats.

My own take is that the jury really is out on the question of raw eggs' nutritional value compared to cooked. The raw food movement may miss some important points, such as the beneficial changes in fermenting some foods, like soy, which can remove their poisonous aspects and and release their benefits. Most mushrooms do not release some of their most important nutrients unless they're well-cooked. Though raw food is generally healthier than cooked, there are exceptions. Egg whites are certainly one of them.

Claims are made that some nutrients are damaged by heating eggs, especially yolks. Thus far, though, I've not seen documentation that convinces me one way or the other. (If a reader has anything, please send it along.)

Nutrient Differences in Conventional Eggs Compared to Free Range Eggs

The comparison between conventional battery-raised eggs and free ranges eggs is stunning. Mother Earth News had free ranges eggs tested to see what their nutrient levels are and compared the results to the official USDA data for commercial eggs.

The results varied from farm to farm, but the average free range egg results showed:

• 1⁄3 less cholesterol
• 1⁄4 less saturated fat
• 2⁄3 more vitamin A
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene
• 21 times more omega-3 fatty acid

Keep in mind that these eggs were from hens that Mother Earth News considers legitimately free range. They spend all or most of their lives outdoors, roosting in trees if they choose. This is not what is usually meant by free range eggs in supermarkets. Usually, those eggs are from chickens that can hardly be distinguished from battery-raised ones. The requirements for the free range label are laughable, with only limited access to the outdoors—and that does not mean pasture—and often nearly as crowded as those labeled battery-raised. As often as not, the outdoors that supermarket "free range" birds see has no grass, but only concrete under their feet, and no real space to roam.

Here are the results of Mother Earth News' results of 7 of the 14 free ranges chicken eggs in their 2007 testing:

	Vit. E (mg)	Vit. A (IU)	Beta Carotene (µ)	Omega 3 Fats (g)	Choles- terol (mg)	Saturated Fat (g)
Eggs from Confined Birds (USDA Nutrient Database)	0.97	487	10	0.03	423	3.1
Free-range Egg Averages Mother earth News, 2007	3.73	791.86	79.03	0.66	277	2.4
Red Stuga; Topeka, KS; Welsumers	3.35	790	73.8	0.69	350	2.07
Polyface Farm; Swoope, VA; Mixed Non-Hybrid Breeds	7.37	763	76.2	0.71	292	2.31
Shady Grove Farm/ American Livestock Breeds Conservancy; Hurdle Mills, NC; Buckeyes	2.68	683	42.0	0.59	321	3.16
Norton Creek Products; Blodgett, OR; Mixed Breeds	2.68	781	102.0	0.55	272	1.88
Skagit River Ranch; Sedro Woolley, WA; Mixed Breeds	4.02	1013	99.6	0.74	335	2.68
Spring Mountain Farms; Lehighton, PA; Red Sex-Links	5.36	813	90.0	0.68	231	1.99
Harmony Hill; Troutville, VA; Rhode Island Reds	1.34	700	69.6	0.49	286	3.38

The other 7 tested egg varieties are not included because Vitamin A and Beta Carotene were not tested.

With nutritional results like these, it's obvious that the best eggs are genuine free range.

Mother Earth News states that the Egg Nutrition Council stated in their 2005 report on the high nutrient levels in eggs:

Barring special diets or breeds, egg nutrients are most likely similar for egg-laying hens, no matter how they are raised.

Obviously, there's a bit of double-speak in that statement. As the egg-testing results above show, hens that live relatively natural lives—that is, living outdoors in a natural environment and foraging for food—produce eggs that are far superior to those from chickens subjected to factory farming.

Mother Earth News also reported that experiments with the same kinds of hens produce superior eggs when they're pastured. So, the right choice for your health and the right moral choice are the same: Eggs from free range pastured hens are superior in every way. They're tastier, more nutritious, and safer.

Yesterday's article, More Than a Symbol of Fertility, Eggs Help the Developing Fetus, tells of the health benefits of eggs—even the battery-raised variety.

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