Skip to content
USDA Chicken and Egg Report. USDA.gov. Published July 23, 2024. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/fb494842n/df65x050g/s1786c78w/ckeg0724.pdf .
USDA Chicken and Egg Reports, July 2019-2024 Reports. USDA.gov. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/fb494842n?locale=en .
Gunnars K. 6 Reasons Why Eggs Are the Healthiest Food on the Planet. Healthline.com. Published July 27, 2023. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/6-reasons-why-eggs-are-the-healthiest-food-on-the-planet .
Puglisi MJ, Fernandez ML. The health benefits of egg protein . Nutrients . 2022;14(14):2904.
Dubin S, McKee K, Battish S. Essential amino acid reference profile affects the evaluation of enteral feeding products . J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 1994;94(8):884-887.
FoodData Central. USDA.gov. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/index.html .
Schaafsma G. The protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score . J. Nutr. 2000;130(7):1865S-7S.
Connolly G, Hudson JL, Bergia RE, et al. Effects of consuming ounce-equivalent portions of animal- vs. plant-based protein foods, as defined by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans on essential amino acids bioavailability in young and older adults: Two cross-over randomized controlled trials . Nutrients . 2023;15(13):2870.
NielsenIQ U.S. Homescan Panel, 52 Weeks Ending October 28, 2023. Nielseniq.com. Published October 28, 2023. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://nielseniq.com/global/en/solutions/homescan/ .
Chicken from Farm to Table. USDA.gov. Updated November 14, 2019. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/poultry/chicken-farm-table#6 .
Steroid Hormone Implants Used for Growth in Food-Producing Animals. FDA.gov. Updated June 30, 2023. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/product-safety-information/steroid-hormone-implants-used-growth-food-producing-animals .
Singer, R. S. (2023). Estimates of on-farm antimicrobial usage in egg production in the United States, 2016–2021. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1135377
Sampling Program | Food Safety and Inspection Service. (n.d.). https://www.fsis.usda.gov/science-data/sampling-program
Conventional Eggs Costs and Prices Report – Mailed August 2024. EggIndustryCenter.org. Published August 6, 2024. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.incredibleegg.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Conventional-Egg-Cost-and-Prices-July-2024-mailed-by-August-2024.pdf .
USDA AMS Livestock & Poultry Program, Livestock, Poultry, and Grain Market News Division. Egg Markets Overview Reports: Nov. 22, 2024
O’Neil A. United States: Population by Ethnic Status 1900. Statista.com. Published July 4, 2024. Accessed August 9. 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1416454/united-states-population-ethnicity-1900 .
Lusk J. The Evolution of American Agriculture. Jaysonlusk.com. Published June 27, 2016. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://jaysonlusk.com/blog/2016/6/26/the-evolution-of-american-agriculture .
Census Bureau Projects U.S. and World Populations on New Year’s Day. Commerce.gov. Published January 3, 2024. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.commerce.gov/news/blog/2024/01/census-bureau-projects-us-and-world-populations-new-years-day .
Fast Facts About Agriculture & Food. FB.org. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.fb.org/newsroom/fast-facts .
Landmark 50-Year Study Documents U.S. Egg Industry Reduced Environmental Footprint. Incredibleegg.org. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.incredibleegg.org/professionals/manufacturers/market-trends/white-papers/landmark-50-year-study-documents-u-s-egg-industry-reduced-environmental-footprint/ .
Family-Owned Farms Account for 96% of U.S. Farms, According to the Census of Agriculture Typology Report. USDA.gov. Published January 22, 2021. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Newsroom/archive/2021/01-22-2021.php .
The 60 Largest US Egg Producers in 2024. Eggindustry-digital.com. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.eggindustry-digital.com/eggindustry/library/item/january_2024/4160291/ .
Michel, V., Berk, J., Bozakova, N., Van Der Eijk, J., Estevez, I., Mircheva, T., Relic, R., Rodenburg, T. B., Sossidou, E. N., & Guinebretière, M. (2022). The Relationships between Damaging Behaviours and Health in Laying Hens. In Victoria Sandilands & Tina Widowski (Eds.), Animals (Vol. 12, p. 986). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12080986
Bist, R. B., Subedi, S., Yang, X., & Chai, L. (2023). Effective Strategies for mitigating feather pecking and cannibalism in Cage-Free W-36 pullets. Poultry, 2(2), 281–291. https://doi.org/10.3390/poultry2020021
Cage-Free Egg Inventory Recovers Following Avian Flu Outbreak. USDA.gov. Updated May 1, 2024. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=109075# .
Eggs. USDA.gov. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/DataFiles/50472/eggs.xls?v=0 .
Animal Husbandry Guidelines for U.S. Egg-Laying Flocks. Unitedegg.com. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://uepcertified.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Caged-UEP-Guidelines_17.pdf .
Ufer DJ. Farm Animal Welfare Policies Cover Breeding Sows, Veal Calves, or Laying Hens in 14 U.S. States. USDA.gov. Published April 24, 2023. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2023/april/farm-animal-welfare-policies-cover-breeding-sows-veal-calves-or-laying-hens-in-14-u-s-states .
How to Decode Egg Labels. Certifiedhumane.org. Published February 20, 2018. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://certifiedhumane.org/decode-egg-labels/ .
Questions and Answers – USDA Shell Egg Grading Service. USDA.gov. Published October 1, 2015. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.ams.usda.gov/publications/qa-shell-eggs .
“Free Range” and “Pasture Raised” Officially Defined by HFAC for Certified Humane® Label. Certifiedhumane.org. Published January 16, 2014. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://certifiedhumane.org/free-range-and-pasture-raised-officially-defined-by-hfac-for-certified-humane-label/ .
Eggstra! Eggstra! Learn All About Them. USDA.gov. Published April 6, 2012. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/04/06/eggstra-eggstra-learn-all-about-them .
Shell Egg Grades. USDA.gov. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/egg/grade-shields .
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Per Kilogram of Food Product. Our World in Data. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/food-footprints .
Poore J, Nemecek T. Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science. 2018;360(6392):987-992.
Confused About Hormones and Eggs? Uepcertified.com. Published July 11, 2019. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://uepcertified.com/confused-about-hormones-and-eggs/ .
UEP Certified – United Egg Producers. Unitedegg.com. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://unitedegg.com/programs/uep-certified/ .
Nielsen Egg Trends July 2024. Nielseniq.com. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://nielseniq.com/global/en/ .
Monthly USDA Cage-Free Shell Egg Report. USDA.gov. Published August 1, 2024. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.incredibleegg.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/USDA-cage-free-report-8.1.24.pdf .
Chickens and Eggs. USDA.gov. Published July 23, 2024. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.incredibleegg.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/USDA-Chicken-Egg-Report-July-23-2024.pdf .
Cage-Free Supply vs Demand Projection, August 2024. Eggindustrycenter.org. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.incredibleegg.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Cage-free-supply-projection-August-2024.png .
Do Brown Eggs Have More Nutrients Than White Eggs? USDA.gov. Published March 18, 2024. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/Do-brown-eggs-have-more-nutrients-than-white-eggs# .
What Colors Are Normal on the Inside of an Agg? Eggsafety.org. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://eggsafety.org/faq/what-colors-are-normal-on-the-inside-of-an-egg/ .
Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Health.gov. Published February 1, 2015. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Scientific-Report-of-the-2015-Dietary-Guidelines-Advisory-Committee.pdf .
Shin JY, Xun P, Nakamura Y, He K. Egg consumption in relation to risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis . Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2013;98(1):146-159.
Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Rimm EB, et al. A prospective study of egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women . JAMA . 1999;281(15):1387-1394.
Alexander DD, Miller PE, Vargas AJ, Weed DL, Cohen SS. Meta-analysis of egg consumption and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke . J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 2016;35(8):704-716.
Qin C, Lv J, Guo Y, et al. Associations of egg consumption with cardiovascular disease in a cohort study of 0.5 million Chinese adults . Heart . 2018;104(21):1756-1763.
Virtanen JK, Mursu J, Virtanen HE, et al. Associations of egg and cholesterol intakes with carotid intima-media thickness and risk of incident coronary artery disease according to apolipoprotein E phenotype in men: The Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study . Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2016;103(3):895-901.
Rong Y, Chen L, Zhu T, et al. Egg consumption and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke: Dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies . BMJ . 2013;346:e8539.
Dehghan M, Mente A, Rangarajan S, et al. Association of egg intake with blood lipids, cardiovascular disease, and mortality in 177,000 people in 50 countries . Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2020;111(4):795-803.
Drouin-Chartier JP, Chen S, Li Y, et al. Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease: Three large prospective US cohort studies, systematic review, and updated meta-analysis . BMJ . 2020;368:m513.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. Dietaryguidelines.gov. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans-2020-2025.pdf .
4 Protein Mistakes to Avoid Infographic. Heart.org. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/4-protein-mistakes-to-avoid