# Brown eggs... nutritional difference? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 3, 2002, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-eggs-nutritional-difference/126842 "2002-09-03T18:28:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![loupdebois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e495f1/32.png) [@loupdebois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loupdebois)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-eggs-nutritional-difference/126842/1 "2002-09-03T18:28:15Z")
Very simple question: is there a difference in nutritional value between brown and white eggs? Does the average percentage of yolk vary, does the brown color represent more nutrients? I know there’s no such thing as ‘whole wheat’ eggs… is brown just a psychologically ‘healthy’ color for dieters??? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-eggs-nutritional-difference/126842/2 "2002-09-03T18:46:37Z")
[What’s the difference between white eggs and brown eggs?](http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20000523.html) ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-eggs-nutritional-difference/126842/3 "2002-09-03T18:49:31Z")
No nutritional difference at all. The color of the shell is mainly a consequence of the breed of hen that layed it. Several sources, like this blurb from the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency agree on it: > [@](#): > > Egg shell colour can vary but it has nothing to do with the quality, flavour, nutritive value, cooking characteristics or shell thickness of an egg. The egg shell colour depends upon the breed of the hen. White shell eggs in Canada come from Leghorn hens while brown shell eggs are produced by Rhode Island Red breed of hens. Rhode Island Red hens are slightly larger birds and require more food. Additional food costs and a smaller supply tends to make brown eggs more expensive than white eggs. I would also add that there is a psychological component to the pricing - in the US, they seem to be able to charge a premium for brown eggs because some people seem to think they are “healthier”, whereas I’ve heard that the situation is exactly reversed in the UK - the white eggs are seen as “higher quality” for some reason, and are more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![loupdebois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e495f1/32.png) [@loupdebois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loupdebois)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-eggs-nutritional-difference/126842/4 "2002-09-03T19:22:46Z")
lol… thanks folks… here’s my theory on the pricing variance… As I said, American tend to associate the white-brown thing with health food… whole grains and stuff… so the price is higher because it’s good for you People from the UK, IME, are less big on the granola thing. They are, however, fastidiously clean. It’s worth it to have a white egg because you can see that it’s been properly washed and it’s hygenic. Simple enough… ---
**Author:** ![Melandry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Melandry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melandry)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-eggs-nutritional-difference/126842/5 "2002-09-03T23:17:17Z")
In Iowa (I think it was Iowa) a few years back they had an advertising campaign based on the idea that brown eggs (for whatever reasons, they didn’t really explain) are local eggs, and local eggs are fresh. It had a catchy jingle, in any case. Is this actually likely to be true in the U.S., ie that large egg producers would be less likely to use the species that produce brown eggs, while smaller, more local producers would use more brown-egg species? ---
**Author:** ![loupdebois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e495f1/32.png) [@loupdebois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loupdebois)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-eggs-nutritional-difference/126842/6 "2002-09-03T23:47:43Z")
It isn’t really a question of “local” in the sense of “domestic” but rather “local” as in “community.” The local egg farmer who’s got kids in your school and a rusty pick-up (don’t they all?) has a much higher likelihood of farming brown eggs that the faceless multinational (which prefers the heavy-laying breeds that generally produce white eggs). “Local” eggs feed the local economy… that’s the plan. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brown-eggs-nutritional-difference/126842/7 "2002-09-04T04:02:42Z")
**Melandry** , thanks for earworming me with the old Massachusetts “Brown eggs are Local Eggs, and Local Eggs are Fresh!” jingle. I remember it from the late Eighties; they don’t use it here in NYC where I moved last year. Oh, Gawd, now it’s been replaced with the old “The Spirit of Massachusetts is the Spirit of America!” tourism jingle, sung by a cheerful chorus trying desperately not to lisp. Thanks a lot! 😉