Learning Dutch and the Difference Between White and Brown Eggs

To buy eggs,


or not to buy...


That's not the question! 



     The question is: Why do people keep buying brown eggs even when they are more expensive than white ones? Maybe you already know, but I had no idea! Last Monday at Dutch school, my classmates and I finally learned the answer to this spooky question!

How did the teacher introduce the topic?

By watching an educational show on Schooltv, Wat is het verschil tussen witte en bruine eieren?

Which eggs are more expensive?

Brown eggs.

Which eggs are the most sold in the supermarkets?

Brown eggs.

Where lies the secret of the egg's color?

In the chicken's earlobe! In de kleur van de kip oorlelletje!

What?!

Yes. If the earlobe is red, brown eggs. If it's white, white it is!

Is the quality different between the two?

No. It's exactly the same. Identiek.

Why, then, are brown ones more popular?

In the past, chickens were usually kept in battery cages, legbatterijen. Because of their grotesqueness, most Dutch people decided to switch to free-ranged eggs, which were brown in their majority. Later, in 2012, battery cages were banned, verboden, in the European Union.  Even so, the white egg's good name was gone and the stores kept selling mostly brown eggs. To put it simply, the brown egg's image, imago, prevailed as a better choice.

Which egg is better for the environment, white or brown?

White.

Why?!

"Een witte kip heeft minder voer nodig om hetzelfde ei te maken dan een bruine kip. Minder voer betekent minder grondstoffen en minder grondstoffen is per definitie duurzamer." What it means is that a white chicken needs less food, and for that reason, it's environmentally more friendly.

Where can one find more episodes to watch and learn?

Go to schooltv. Once there, you can filter the information, for example, by topic or age. I actually learned why drinking a glass of orange juice is kind of the same as having a soda. You can watch that show here.  

Now tell me, which eggs will you buy next time?

Tot de volgende keer!

PS

Please take into account that this information is from a video from the Netherlands, following European Union standards. The regulation in other parts of the world is not necessarily the same. ;-)