curious about the "Eggland's Best" eggs.

[oliviad51]

I have a friend that lives in Virginia and that doesn't have access to TRUE free range eggs. They buy the Egglands Best brand of eggs at the grocery store. They say the yolk looks much more golden but want to know for sure how they are treated at the "Egglands Best" farm. (the chickens) The carton says "cage-free eggs" but who knows what that really means these days. And does anyone know of any eggs you can buy at the grocery store that are TRUE free range?

 

[NottinghamChicks]

Hmmmm, will we ever know? If they are advertised as "cage free" is just means they are not in cages which in turn usually means overcrowded on a floor of a barn. I highly doubt that they are out in a field happily grazing. I do believe they are probably happier and healthier (and yes they yolks are better looking than caged hens). Perhaps a better quality food or maybe less antibiotics, hopefully a combination of better food and no abx. The best you can do as a avg. consumer of eggs is buy cage free, organic or vegetarian fed without abx, or buy from your local farmer who has standards of quality and humanity.

 

[FireTigeris]

I cannot find any unbiased or scholarly articles:

This is as close as I came.

http://www.federalregister.gov/arti...agreement-with-analysis-to-aid-public-comment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal-Maine

http://www.prwatch.org/node/9177

I used the following search in Google, I will not re-post the first link.

Google: investigation of eggland's best

 

[feathersnuggles]

Here is a report card that includes Eggland's Best. EB was rated "1 egg", or "ethically deficient - industrial organics/no meaningful outdoor access and/or none were open enough to participate." Scroll a little more than 1/2 way the chart down to find them:
http://www.cornucopia.org/organic-egg-scorecard/

Here's a brief video, "Scrambled Eggs", that explains the story on organic, cage-free, and other distortions of the industrial egg business:
http://www.cornucopia.org/2010/10/video-scrambled-eggs/

 

[feathersnuggles]

Quote:
The EB yolks are "yellowed" by proprietary ingredients in the feed that make the darker color. These coloring agents are: marigold extract, corn, and alfalfa meal. Personally, I find this type of feed practice deceptive, since dark yolks naturally happen with pastured hens. Interestingly, my hens won't touch marigolds and they don't like alfalfa. Coloring the yolks is not the same as giving hens access to full range nutrition. I'd rather get rich egg yolks from hens that eat plenty of insect proteins and fats.

 

[ichoudhury]

I tasted Eggland "Cage Free" eggs (don't know how much of it deception like that youtube video talks about -

) but actually found it quite tasty when I compare with with regular grocery store eggs. I thought the color was nicer and egg was quite firm (compare to the regular grocery store egg that were quite runny) . I also had some of my friend's free range chicken eggs (I had them few days ago, so could't compare side by side), but Eggland's Cage Free taste come closer to the free range eggs. All the eggs were same shape/size so I was skeptical, but figured, they are after all factory and they may have people (or machine) sorting the same shape eggs in one area, while others going to other area for packaging (Just guessing).

Anyway, I am still waiting for my Free Range chickies to lay (they are very close) and I will do another comparison. For now, I have to say, I much rather pay for those than the other cheap eggs. If someone doesn't have a farmer's market near, or own chicken .. those EB aren't so bad.

 

[wyoDreamer]

We buy the Egglands Best because we can't have chickens at our palce ... yet. I am working on that.
The only person that I can fins that has home grown eggs is not taking any more customers. She has a list of customers that is larger than her egg supply already.

We find that they taste better and are fresher - the yolks hold their shape better and the whites don't run across the pan when we fry them. DH likes the darker yolks. We had to buy regular supermarket eggs and I ended up boiling them and using them in a wilted lettuce salad just to use them up because DH wouldn't eat them for breakfast.

 

[artyrexx]

According to a Kentucky Life Show re: chicken, cage free means they are let out of their cages for 1 hour daily. Using this logic, prisoners in solitary are cage free because they are let into the yard 1 hour a day.

I looked up all off the terms such as "all natural", organic, and others terms that mean a 20% increase in price. FDA does not pin these terms to any quantifiable and discernible status. The definition of all natural could easily be describing weapons grade depleted uranium .. it "came from the earth" ... didn't it ?

Copper cures arthritis too !

 

[Carolyn]

I bought Eggland's Best eggs once when my hens were not laying. One of the eggs had the biggest blood spot have ever seen in an egg and I have seen a lot of eggs in 67 years. I thought that was hilarious since they claim they are the perfect egg.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Since this thread was recently resurrected, I figure I will update my answer. We moved to a new state - an Ag state called Wisconsin.
At the little, local grocery store - we buy the Egglands best because they taste better than the other choice. They are over a $1 more a dozen but the yolks have color, they stand up in the pan, there is 2 layers of whites and they taste fresher.
At the large grocery store in the nearby city - we buy a different brand which is still a factory farm but the eggs are the same freshness and taste as the Eggland's Best.
Egglands Best are factory farmed - not bird friendly. Without having my own farm-raised eggs, they are the best I can do in a pinch, so I eat them.
Next summer it will be different - I will have my own chickens. More than I need for just 2 of us, but I would rather give my excess eggs to friends and family than to not have enough for our own use. Mom and Dad are 1/2 hour away, so dropping off a dozen eggs once in a while will not be a problem I'm sure.