Thanks for the reply. I re-read my e-mail and realized that it wasn’t exactly clear about the sale of eggs. It isn’t that I can’t sell them, I just have trouble selling all of them consistantly, especially at the time of the message, and that is frustrating.

I do sell them at several local farmer’s markets, and I usually sell most or all of my eggs during the market season, but while the markets open in May or June, and close in September or October in this area, the hens lay year round, leaving me with the challenge of selling the eggs from October to April. My strategy is to direct market to local businessess and clients homes, very anti-cost effective I might note, and even so my production seems to stay two steps ahead of my market.

I understand your hesitation to accept the results of any published study. However, the direct link between a hens diet and the egg characteristics is logical, and of course it makes sense that most folks would have no difficulty tasting that difference. When I butcher one of my hens the gizzard is completly stuffed with grass. Although they do eat some chicken feed, the grass is their main-stay.

A contrary logic might argue that although the meat of chicken will be different based on diet, “an egg is an egg is an egg”. And while that also makes logical sense, don’t tell that to a human mother. Dietitians, doctors, and mothers everywhere are convinced that the egg, and then the developing embryo are indeed very much influenced by what the mothers eat (and listen to, as far as that goes).

There is probably a simple chemical test that can be done in anyone’s kitchen that could measure one or more of the supposed differences between the eggs. I wonder if anyone out there would know how to do that?!!! Especially the fat should be a simple thing practical to measure. The deeper orange in the yolk is a sign of more vitamin B (or so I was taught in school), but although we can ‘see’ it, that’s not the same thing as measuring it.

As far as the market for ‘country eggs’ as they call them here, this strangely seems to have contracted in this area. 30 years ago when I first started selling eggs I could not produce enough for my customers, even though I had a larger flock and ‘white’ eggs, which are less preferred. I sold them all from home, with no need for a farmer’s market or any other sales strategy. Now my sales at home are virtually nil. And no, I have’t changed my residence! A common feed back I get at the Farmer’s Market from many clients of my other products is that they don’t like pasture fed eggs because they are ‘nasty’. My theory is that the majority of the population has now never eaten a pastured egg, and have come to accept the mass-produced egg as the ‘gold standard’ to which everything else is measured. Recently a study on home-grown tomatoes was carried out and it was found that most urbanites who grew up on shipped tomatoes actually prefered their flavor to that of home-grown. I think the same thing has happened with eggs. That’s my theory anyway!

Have a good one.

Chris

Thank you for reading my blog. I’ve gotta be honest with you. I have a problem with studies showing that free-range eggs vs. conventional eggs are more nutritious. The reason is that studies could be skewed in either direction. I will say this and say it with confidence; I can ABSOLUTELY tell the difference from free-range eggs that I buy from the farmers market to the eggs from local grocery store even if they claim to be free-range. I will NEVER buy eggs from a grocery store again, I don’t care if I go without for a month. The yolk is different, the taste is different and you may be right Chris, that nutritionally they may be different as well. Studies may prove scientifically that one is better than the other or that there is no difference, but I can observe the difference with my own eyes and taste buds.

I am sorry you are having trouble selling your eggs. I am not sure if you do this but have you thought about joining a local farmers market? Or simply approaching local gyms and personal training centers to see if someone would like to purchase from you? Maybe even local restaurants. I think the Raleigh area is seeing the light and trying to become and eat healthier. They’re trying to make more conscious choices of what goes in their bodies and where it comes from. I’m certainly trying hard to show people that if you don’t know who raised your food, you don’t know what you’re eating.

If you think there is any way that I can help ask me for my email address and I’ll try to help in any way that I can. For now, God bless and good luck in your venture. God knows we need more caring farmers like you out there. Keep chugging along. If you love what you’re doing it’ll show in your product and people will pick up on that.

Emily, thank you for that suggestion and I had been toying with the idea of writing a blog on exactly that. I think I will end up finding so much horrifying information that it’ll be tough to censor it for “virgin” ears.

Matt, I completely agree with you that a vegetarian based diet can and does offer the nutrition needed by humans. My fiancee is a vegetarian and is healthier than ever. Our goal is to educate people to make the best possible choices on the food they decide to eat. I think that if they choose to eat meat (or anything for that matter) they should know where it comes from. The only thing I preach (and I’m ashamed to say, I do this quite often) is that people should spend more time finding out where their food comes from and how it was raised or grown instead of the mindless eating we as americans have gotten so accustomed to. I hate to say this but I think there are a lot of people that don’t know what really happens in “factory-farms”. I think if more people knew, they would change their eating habits and that’s our ULTIMATE goal. Education.

Thank you everyone for posting your opinions on this and PLEASE keep them coming.
Sam

To quote other well known nutritionists:

“It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.”

“Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence. Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer.”

[Source: http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm