WHAT THE FORK : EGG LABELING SERIES PART 2

Welcome to part 2 of my Egg labeling series! If you missed part 1 you can find it here. Vegetarian fed is another misleading label that is very confusing. It sounds so healthy, right? In actuality, vegetarian fed is completely against how chickens in the wild eat! When given the chance to roam free they eat mostly bugs (last time I checked bugs aren’t vegetarian friendly) – along with grass. Unfortunately most of the time Vegetarian fed is a just a fancy marketing term to cover up the fact that they were fed a mixture of pesticide sprayed GMO corn & soy. So you have to be very careful when you buy Vegetarian Fed. This label is important to vegetarian eaters & if this is something you care about, just make sure your eggs are organic or they were most likely fed pesticide sprayed GMO corn & soy.

This is why I cannot stress the importance of pasture-raised, organic eggs enough! When hens are given the ability to roam freely outside in their natural habitat, in the sunlight, enjoying bugs and grass - they are HAPPY! And healthy! Unlike the sick, factory farmed hens. Happy hens produce healthy eggs with rich, bright yellow yolks. You can actually tell a difference in yolk color when you crack open a pasture raised egg next to the pale, dull factory farmed yolk. Don’t even get me started on the taste difference! 

I must gush over VitalFarms again because they are changing the egg game and doing a speggtacular job at it. All food puns aside, their hens are free to roam outside as they please, enjoy a rich diet of bugs and grass (may not be our diet of choice, but it is theirs!) and get plenty of Vitamin D from sunlight exposure. They also do not use any herbicides or pesticides on their organic pastures. As a result, their hens produce the healthiest and most delicious tasting eggs you’ve ever had. The key here is that these eggs come from healthy and happy hens! Just as we are healthier when we eat a healthy diet, hens are healthier when they eat what their bodies were designed to eat and in turn they reward us with healthier eggs! Studies back this up showing that pasture raised eggs are significantly higher in Vitamin E, A & Omega 3s vs conventional eggs.

Tomorrow is the last of my 3 part series on egg labels and you won’t want to miss it!