Benefits of Free Range Eggs

I've sent this out to folks before but wanted to "archive" it in my blog so I wouln't have to go look it up every time I wanted the info.

I know from eating eggs from our own "happy backyard chickens" that free range eggs don't taste anything like the bland eggs you get cheap in the grocery store. Our eggs have yolks that are almost orange and have a lot more flavor than factory eggs. I assume that color comes from all of the grass, weeds, bugs, worms and whatever else the chickens find to eat around the yard. According to Mother Earth News, eggs from pastured hens versus factory hens contain:

•1/3 less cholesterol
•1/4 less saturated fat
•2/3 more vitamin A
•Two times more omega-3 fatty acids
•Three times more vitamin E
•Seven times more beta carotene
•3 to 6 times more Vitamin D

So whether you buy your eggs from a farmer's market, a friend or from the grocery store, always try to buy free range eggs rather than eggs from factory raised chickens.