One simple way to make your life eggs-ponentially better

Eme Crawford
October 25, 2013

So we’re going out of town for a couple of weeks on vacation, my neighbor told me over the buzz of the Soda City Farmers’ Market.  You think you could stop by the house and look after the chickens, he asked with an (at the time) imperceptibly mischievous glint in his eyes.

These are the neighbors with the verdant garden, to my scorched attempts at growing loofah; the neighbors with fresh eggs when you need them; the neighbors who never run out of ice.  So of course I jumped at the chance to help a neighbor by claiming my taste of ripe veggies, orange-y yolked eggs, and abundant ice while their backs were tanning at whatever wonderful vacation spot they chose.

When I returned home I heard a gentle clucking in my back yard.  A box of chicken wire and PVC pipe attached to wooden nesting area with a removable roof confirmed my aural suspicions.   Yes, I was now unwittingly the proud owner of chickens.

And that’s how I went from chicken sitter who enjoys fresh eggs to chicken owner who obnoxiously proselytizes about the superiority of fresh, pastured eggs.  (By the way, be careful when you see the term free-range —it can be a slippery term used to make you think your eggs are something they’re not.

My eggs are better than yours (for those of you who already cultivate your own chickens or buy local, pastured eggs, you can skip over this section and go straight to patting yourself on the back) basically because of the yolks.  

The shorthand answer to life’s question lies in the color of your egg yolks.  Here’s why:

1.     If your egg yolk is more yellow than orange, your egg producer is probably doing it wrong.  The color of your yolk signifies how the chicken was raised.  The richer the color, the more carotenoids present (carotenoids are things like beta-carotene, xanthophlls) which means the chicken is probably free to ramble around a pasture or yard, which means the chicken probably has a happier life, which means you probably have good karma coming your way. 

2.     In all likelihood, an orange yolk means more nutrients.  An independent study by Mother Earth News and a more recent study by Pennsylvania State University compared pastured eggs with the typical eggs you find in a typical grocery store.  Looky at what they found.  Pastured eggs may contain

• 1/3 less cholesterol
• ¼ less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene

3.     But let’s be honest.  Chefs across the world wouldn’t be making a big fuss over fresh, pastured eggs if they weren’t clucking delicious.  You can taste the way the chickens were raised.  There’s a depth, richness, and earthiness to an egg raised on grass and grubs.  And if you’re lazy like me, the crowning glory of an egg produced right is that you don’t have to do much to it to make it taste amazing.  Egg, salt, pepper, maybe a fresh herb—that’s all it takes for a satisfying, wholesome meal.
Wanna be as smug and self righteous as me about your eggs?  You don’t have to wait on a neighbor to donate hens.  Check out urbanchicken.org to get you started.

Do you have neither the space nor inclination to raise your own?  That’s cool.   Steal a neighbor’s leftovers or head over to the Soda City Farmers’ Market , Rosewood Market , or 14 Carrot Whole Foods .

Eme Crawford advocates for a healthier and more fiscally responsible South Carolina through her work with Tell Them (www.tellthemsc.org) where she’s the Manager of Social Media and Online Mobilization and through coordinating Soda City Farmers’ Market’s (www.sodacitysc.com) social media.
 

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