Why do brown eggs cost more than white eggs? Blame the bird

It’s a moment many shoppers grapple with at some point during a grocery run: Why does a carton of brown eggs cost more than a carton of white eggs?

It’s a moment many shoppers grapple with at some point during a grocery run: Why does a carton of brown eggs cost more than a carton of white eggs? It’s not what you might think. It’s not about one type being healthier, or more natural or fancier than the other but really about the nitty-gritty of farm economics. It costs more to keep the brown egg-laying hen happy and well fed. “Basically, there is no difference between a brown egg and a white egg nutritionally. It has to do with the breed of the chicken,” explained Daniel Brey, owner of Brey’s Egg Farm, a fourth-generation family egg farm in Jeffersonville, New York. The farm produces more than 200,000 white eggs a day. Some breeds such as White Leghorn chickens lay eggs with white shells while other breeds such as Rhode Island Reds lay eggs with brown shells. According to Brey, the cost and taste of the egg you buy – white or brown - is determined by what – and how much – is fed to the hen. “It has a lot to do with the chicken feed,” Brey said. “It costs more to make a dozen brown eggs because the chickens that produce them tend to eat more.” Edmund McNamara and his wife, Rose, run Sova Farms in Norwich, NY, about 200 miles north of New York City’s Central Park. Sova Farms, he said, is organic certified by the United States Department of Agriculture for its brown eggs and its chicken, pork and lamb.