Laying hens (the kind of chicken that provides the eggs you buy at the grocery store) generally live a really miserable existence. If you can stomach it, I recommend reading a page like this one. The things described there are the reason I haven’t bought eggs from the grocery store for a long time (once or twice we’ve run out and really, really needed them so I buy the most expensive kind with all the labels that I don’t really believe in hopes that at least they led a slightly better life). And the reason why I’d like to have chickens of my own someday.
“The worst torture to which a battery hen is exposed is the inability to retire somewhere for the laying act. For the person who knows something about animals it is truly heart-rending to watch how a chicken tries again and again to crawl beneath her fellow cagemates to search there in vain for cover.” Konrad Lorenz
As I said, I don’t really trust the labels on the grocery store. Too many, with too many different meanings, and in my opinion, crappy regulation that doesn’t really effect much change and is carefully worded by those who have a self-interest in making the regulations as lenient as possible.
Salon published an excellent article that helped me wade through the muck of terms including “vegetarian”, “cafe-free”, “free range” and “organic” really mean. I’ve recently learned a lot from The Omnivore’s Dilemma as well.
If this isn’t something you’ve spent any time thinking about before now, will you pretty please give it a few minutes? Maybe this could be the one small change you make, no matter how tiny your grocery budget is. I just get really depressed thinking about how terrible it is to be a laying hen in industrial food system of America. 
September 13th, 2011 on 8:58 am
I could not agree with you more, Jenna. I’ve learned a great deal from the Omnivore’s Dilemma and other news article on the topic of laying hens.
One of my childhood dreams was to live in the country and raise chickens–free ranging and organically. Now that I have almost 20 hens, I am so impressed with the difference between store bought eggs versus our hens’ eggs. My hens’ eggs are not only healthier (higher in omega-3 fatty acids than store bought), but I can actually feel the difference when I crack the egg. It takes effort to crack mine. I’ve read that organic eggs are also higher in Vitamin A and E.
I can actually taste a difference if I were to eat a store bought versus free range hen egg now.
For a few dollars I would gladly eat something healthier, as well as support humane treatment of chickens.
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September 13th, 2011 on 9:35 am
I buy the most expensive eggs I can find at the supermarket. I wish I could get some from a farmers market or something, but a lot of the time I’m at work when the markets are open.
I’d love to have my own chickens, but they aren’t allowed in our city. There’ve been some big debates about ‘urban chickens’ recently. That and I currently live in a condo building – I’d need my own place for chickens.
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September 13th, 2011 on 9:45 am
I started buying brown eggs when we moved into our current neighborhood, just because I loved the cute little boy that sold them with his mom. His mom was the one who educated me on the differences in treatment, nutrition, etc of her eggs vs the ones at the store. I’m a little nervous to do too much research to be honest, but I like to think I’m doing a little bit to help this awesome lady and her son, and stick it to those mean corporations.
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September 13th, 2011 on 9:56 am
We buy our eggs from this really cute elderly couple who owns a farm at our local market. They’ve been raising chickens for a very long time and explained their process to us. It isn’t even that bad of a price. Anywhere between $2.25-3.00 for a dozen.
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Kelli Nicole Reply:
September 13th, 2011 at 4:56 pm
That’s an amazing price! The only eggs I’ve seen at Farmer’s Markets are around $6-8 for a dozen.
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Meg Reply:
September 14th, 2011 at 7:24 am
Really!? And I thought $3.00 was expensive!
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September 13th, 2011 on 10:28 am
It’s funny, I grew up on a small ranch in Southern California and we raised chickens well before I realized that it was something special. As a kid I was just the person who lived a little farther from school than everyone else, who’s had 100′s of chickens roaming her property, and lived w/ an endless supply of avocados oranges etc. All organic and amazing. Wow, what I wouldn’t give to have that now?! That said I’ve always understood that a farm raised chicken will lay a superior egg & have tried to explain that to everyone I know. These days I purchase my eggs from a local farmers market. They’re pretty good but still not as perfect as the ones I remember from childhood!
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September 13th, 2011 on 11:08 am
I raise chickens and sell their eggs at my work. It makes me feel better to share our eggs with people who wouldn’t be able to raise hens of their own (I work with “city” people). I charge $2.00 a dozen and deliver the eggs. I lose money but the piece of mind I get makes up the difference.
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September 13th, 2011 on 11:20 am
The Omnivore’s Dilemma really changed the way my husband and I looked at the way food is produced in the U.S. Now we order our eggs from a local farm and always make sure the meat we buy is cage free/grass fed. We also try and make sure all the other food we buy doesn’t have corn or soy products in it and we’ve started to make almost everything from scratch. It’s a little more expensive, but it’s most definitely worth it.
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September 13th, 2011 on 11:25 am
I looked at one of the links in the Salon article that rates organic eggs. It makes me sad that only the eggs with a “one” rating are sold in my area. It seems like many parts of the country do not have wide access to organic, humanely raised eggs. Here’s to hoping that widespread awareness of the issue begins to change that soon.
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September 13th, 2011 on 11:41 am
We haven’t purchased eggs in over a month, partly because deciphering those labels is impossible. Both my parents and my in-laws have local sources of free-range “happy chicken” eggs that they buy straight from the source, and I’m so jealous: they know exactly what the chickens’ living conditions are, they know the farmers, and the eggs are definitely tastier.
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September 13th, 2011 on 12:23 pm
I buy Phil’s Fresh Eggs, which I don’t see on that chart. All research leads me to believe that they are an excellent alternative to the farmers market & are more readily available at the store.
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Kristin ~ Bien Living Design Reply:
September 13th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
I should also note that they are in Illinois, making them quite local for Chicagoans.
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September 13th, 2011 on 4:05 pm
thanks for this post and the links you provided. i buy my eggs from a neighbor (who i actually found when searching for farm fresh eggs on craigslist). i buy them for $2/dozen and bring her my used egg cartons. it’s works great for us!
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September 14th, 2011 on 7:05 am
Great post, and great links, especially the chart. I just want to point out that at least at all of the major grocery stores near me you can buy “good” eggs, you just have to pay more for them. For example the Pete and Gerry’s eggs can be found at all of the big chain supermarkets in our area. So there is hope for those who can’t buy direct from the farm!
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September 14th, 2011 on 10:24 am
Thank you for psoting that info Jenna! When I was transitioning into my predominantly vegan lifestyle and reading more I realized just how horrible the whole situation was. I would really like to own my own chickens.
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September 14th, 2011 on 1:35 pm
Wow! Thanks for posting this. I always thought any organic egg is best but after looking at that link I see that the brands available in the stores I shop in are not highly rated!
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September 14th, 2011 on 5:54 pm
That rating system was so useful. We just moved and our new grocery store only sells one brand of organic eggs – but they get a very good rating and are local to us. Knowing this made me so happy.
We are poor as all get out right now, but we still pay the extra dollars for the best eggs we can find. One because factory farming of animals is gross. And two because the eggs that are produced that way taste awful.
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