[R
Sun's coming up.
[Charlsie] At the crack of dawn, our assignment begins.
Tracking where one of your favourite foods comes from.
We're visiting an organic farm near Holstein, Ontario,
two hours north of Toronto.
We're here to see...
..chickens.
Oh my gosh, look at them all.
I didn't realize every chicken will lay an egg
every morning.
[Beth] Yep.
[Charlsie] Beth Simpson and her husband Lloyd begin their day
at 5 AM...
There's a jumbo.
[Charlsie] ..collecting hundreds of eggs, from 500 chickens.
Oh, there's one coming out, oh my gosh.
[Clucking]
Oh my God!
It's warm.
[Charlsie] They get a special feed too.
This is heavy.
[Beth laughs]
What's in here Beth, what are they getting?
It's all the grasses and grains.
It's their protein compressed together.
[Charlsie] Beth says she adds hay with alfalfa.
She shows us what farming chickens for organic eggs
is all about.
They have the ability to run free, they have all organic feed
so they are raised to be as natural to a normal chicken's
life as we can get.
So are your hens happy here?
Yes.
How can you tell?
You heard them crooning.
I did.
And they croon, and they buck, and they just
are happy chickens.
They can run around anywhere they want to go.
This is our egg sorting room and our coolers.
[Charlsie] But does a happy chicken lay a healthier egg?
So Beth, we were hoping to take some eggs with us today
to test them.
Is that alright with you?
I love that, it's nice to know the quality of your eggs.
[Charlsie] Beth's a member of a small-farmers' cooperative
and their eggs sell for around $8 a dozen.
We want to test her eggs and a whole lot more.
Alright, let's get crackin.
We've got Green Valley, enriched colony farm.
[Charlsie] It's gotten complicated.
Free run, omega-3...
[Charlsie] And expensive.
PC Organic, $6.79.
These are just Compliments large size eggs, and they're $2.75.
Huh.
[Charlsie] But I do wonder if the cheapest eggs are just as
healthy as the pricier organic ones?
To find out we're sending 28 dozen eggs, plus Beth's
for nutritional analysis.
So these are the conventional eggs, the cheap guys.
We've got no name, Compliments, Gray Ridge, Burnbrae.
These are the organic eggs here...
[Charlsie] And some of the priciest.
Compliments, Kirkland, PC, and Burnbrae, Gold Egg
organic brown eggs.
Eggs from free range hens, fed an organic diet.
[Charlsie] A few more from small farms.
Bekings, Yorkshire-- Beth's brand.
And, we throw in some mid-range options too.
Free Run, it says from free roaming hens in
open-concepts barns.
Hmm.
[Charlsie] That's fourteen different brands.
The lab will test conventional, organic, and free run
eggs for us.
Hundreds of them, to answer one big question.
Do you think that the cheapest eggs are just as nutritious as
the most expensive ones?
I generally do buy organic but whether they're healthy or not,
I really don't know.
I mean, I would assume so.
I think that this overspending and truly high cost for organic
is totally useless.
I know that some people believe it's healthier but for me,
I don't.
Do you think that the cheapest eggs are just as nutritious as
the most expensive ones?
I actually don't know.
And would you be willing to pay more money for a more
nutritious egg? -I would.
Oh yeah. One hundred percent.
[Charlsie] So which egg is it?
We check nutritional labels but find they're inconsistent,
listing some but not all nutrients and making them hard
to compare.
So this food sciences lab is testing these eggs for us,
checking vitamins A, D, and E, protein, cholesterol.
And today, fats, including omega-3.
So we follow a two-day extraction procedure.
[Charlsie] Let's get cracking, literally.
That is step one.
Mix a full dozen eggs from a carton...
..to create one sample.
And next?
[scientist] We add certain reagents to our samples.
We follow the hydrolysis step.
[Charlsie] Using some strong acid and boiling water.
[scientist] And at the end we have the top layer of fat
that gets separated.
[Charlsie] When it comes to food analysis, there are
a lot of steps.
[scientist] We use it for the final vialing.
[Charlsie] We're showing you some of the big ones.
Last but not least, loading those vials into this gas
chromatography instrument.
This piece of lab equipment will spit out a breakdown.
As we wait for those numbers, we hit the streets to find out more
about your egg consumption.
How many eggs would you say you eat in a week?
Two to four.
And egg salad.
-We love to make egg salad. -Me too.
How many eggs would you say you have in a week?
About six.
-24. -What?
Yeah. Protein!
-Bodybuilding. -Seriously?
[Charlsie] He's not the only one.
What's for dinner?
I'm making you omelettes.
[Charlsie] The Kin family buys about six dozen eggs a week.
We drop by to find out more about their love of eggs.
Wendy, why do you eat so many?
It's convenient. It's quick.
We're a busy family.
We love the taste of eggs.
And we exercise.
So right after a workout we'll eat eggs.
What are you actually buying?
We don't-- we're not too picky.
I don't really know one brand for another.
Okay.
But when we do see omega-3s, we just buy them.
And Wendy, anything in particular for you
about omega-3?
The body doesn't naturally produce omega-3, so I'm
all about supplements.
And you have growing teenage girls.
[Robert] Oh, they eat a lot, they eat a lot.
[Charlsie] Does omega-3 in eggs really do all that?
We're calling on registered dietitian Aja Gyimah
to find out.
Omega-3s are really important for brain health, they're really
important for inflammation as well as heart health, and then
also for growth and development in the early stages of life.
[Charlsie] Adults need 1.1 to 1.6 grams of omega-3 in a day.
So is it worth it to pay $2 more for these omega eggs?
I would prefer to get my omega-3s from another source
where I know I'm going to be meeting my daily needs.
What would be better sources of omega-3?
So definitely any fatty fish, salmon is a huge one, and also
things like walnuts, flax seeds.
Most nuts and seeds will have omega-3s.
[Charlsie] Bottom line, when it comes to omega-3 some experts
say there are better quality sources than eggs.
But what about protein in eggs?
Whether you're like, a baby or whether you're over 90 years
old, you all need protein and it's super important to get
protein in so using eggs to provide that protein is going to
be a very efficient way to help you maintain or even build
muscle mass.
[Charlsie] Aja says eggs are a great source of protein,
and most of us can eat about five to seven a week.
If you're concerned about cholesterol, talk to
your doctor.
Now it's time to find out If pricier eggs pack a more
nutritious punch.
Our lab results are in.
In the eggs we test, when it comes to conventional and big
brand organic eggs, for most of the nutrients, there is
no real difference.
I'm actually quite shocked.
[Charlsie] David Soberman is a professor and the Canadian
National Chair in strategic marketing.
I definitely would have expected, and I think the
average consumer would have expected that the organic eggs
would have been a bit better.
[Charlsie] Remember, we tested conventional and organic eggs
from these big brands.
No name to PC Organics, Sobeys' Compliments, from two of the
biggest egg suppliers in the country, both Burnbraes,
Gray Ridge, and their organic brand, Gold Egg.
On average, when it comes to cholesterol, protein, vitamins
A, E and E, the differences are so small registered dieticians
tell us it doesn't count.
And in fact, in our test, some organic eggs actually have less
vitamins than their conventional brands.
There are some notable exceptions.
And, when it comes to omega-3, these organic eggs have double
the amount than conventional, but one egg still has nowhere
near what you need in a day.
In the end, not much difference in nutrition, but there sure is
when it comes to cost.
I think this might actually clear up a lot of confusion for
our consumers because most people might be buying these big
brand organic eggs because they think they're going to provide
more nutrients, however now we know that conventional eggs are
actually able to hold their own.
[Charlsie] We share our results with the Organic Council
of Ontario.
They say unlike conventional feed, theirs is gmo and
pesticide free, plus people buy organics to support the more
humane treatment of animals.
There are big differences in the cost of production.
If you're going to produce an egg organically it doesn't cost
the same as producing an egg industrially.
Now, as always there is a "but", okay?
[Charlsie] And what about those small-farm organics we test,
and free run eggs?
Any differences there?
I do think that is really interesting.
[♪♪♪]
[Charlsie] How do Beth's eggs compare?
They need to have proper nutrition, proper space.
[Charlsie] Is what's good for chickens good for you too?
[Charlsie] This is your marketplace.
Put this on...
[Charlsie] We put more than 300 eggs to the test.
Now, time to find out if how hens are raised makes any
nutritional difference.
I care more about the ethical standards of how
the chickens are kept.
[Charlsie] But there certainly is confusion.
Do you know the difference between free run and free range?
No.
No, I don't.
I was just gonna ask, are they not the same thing?
That says enriched colony farm.
Do those things mean anything to you?
I don't even know what that means, enriched colony farm,
it's very confusing.
Free run, free range, enriched colony, all those things--
are those terms confusing on the egg cartons?
I think to the average consumer they would be.
Seems like a bit of advertising to me.
Do you think if they were clearer you would make
a different choice about what eggs you buy?
Yes, absolutely.
We ask all the big brands for a farm tour.
But they say no, some citing concerns over COVID
and others tell us to speak to the Egg Farmers of Canada.
So we do, but they won't give us access either.
[Charlsie] Instead, we find some footage on their websites.
Here's enriched colony, larger cages than these conventional
ones, with a perch bar, scratch pad and nest box.
It's very appealing to be looking at something that's got
green grass, 'cause then you think happy chicken.
In fact, it's not-- it's really just stuck in a cage.
Making it sound better than what it actually is.
[Charlsie] Burnbrae owns Green Valley.
We tell them some of you find this marketing misleading.
They say consumers with questions about hen housing can
visit their website.
In Canada, 85% of our eggs come from hens in cages.
So what does cage-free look like?
Well, there's free run with open concept barns.
And free range is similar, but with doors like this to access
the outdoors.
What about the big-brand organics?
We know the hens get an organic feed and are free range,
however, none of the companies are willing to show us.
But it turns out, in our test, all organics aren't the same.
The small-farm eggs have a lot more vitamin D, E, and even
slightly more protein than the big-brand organic eggs.
Oh, is that right?
Honestly, I would rather support the small farm.
That's good to know.
I would seek those eggs out.
[Charlsie] So what is behind those differences?
Poultry nutritionists explain that differences in nutrition
are based on feed, and sometimes the breed of the chicken and age
of the flock.
Farmer Beth believes something else helps too...
Just like humans, they need to have proper nutrition,
proper space.
They need to go outside and get the sun, they need to be able to
run and feel happy and free.
Do you think the organic chickens and the organic eggs
from the big organic operations get the same treatment that your
chickens do?
I don't want to answer that one.
[Charlsie] We tell all the companies about our small-farm
test results.
Some say they follow industry standards and provide their
customers with many options.
L.H. Gray and Costco don't respond.
For most eggs, when you pay more, it's about happier hens.
But if you can't stomach the $8 a dozen for Beth's eggs
and still want cage-free, you could consider free run.
They cost less, but in our test, nutritionally pack almost
as much of a punch.
Might as well stick with the cheaper and keep my money
in my pocket.
Price is definitely a factor.
[Charlsie] Dieticians say, no matter what price, eggs are part
of balanced diet and a good source of protein and vitamin E.
Awesome, it's great to know that we can feed him whatever
we choose and he'll be fine.