Egg Reader
Teacher’s Guide
AG IN THE CLASSROOM - HELPING THE NEXT GENERATION UNDERSTAND THEIR CONNECTION TO AGRICULTURE
RESOURCES
Colorado Egg Producers Association
P.O. Box 20, Livermore, CO 80536
ColoradoEggProducers.com
970-881-2902
Egg Nutrition Center: enc-online.org
The Egg Nutrition Center (ENC) was estab-
lished in 1984 to provide commercial egg pro-
ducers/processors, health promotion agencies
and consumers with a resource for scientifically
accurate information on egg nutrition and the
role of eggs in the health and nutrition of the
American diet.
On the Web:
Take a tour of an egg farm: uepcertified.com
ThinkEgg.com
Information on all types of food:
FeedStuffsFoodLink.com
American Egg Board
The Incredible Edible Egg Web Site: aeb.org
Other Reading:
The Nature and Science of Eggs
(Exploring the Science of Nature)
by Jane Burton. Published by Gareth Stevens
Publishing, 1998. Describes the purpose, parts,
fertilization, development, and other aspects of
eggs. Includes experiments and activities.
Chicken and Egg
by Christine Back. Published by S. Burdett Co,
1986. Photographs, drawings, and text on two
different levels of difficulty follow the develop-
ment of a chick embryo from the fertilization
and laying of the egg to the time the chick
hatches.
Comments, questions, suggestions and feedback
about the Colorado Reader are welcome.
Contact: Colorado Reader Publisher:
Colorado Foundation for Agriculture
Bette Blinde, Director
P.O. Box 10
Livermore, CO 80536,
Phone (970) 881-2902
[email protected]
Page 2 -
History ~
Both eggs and birds have been
around longer than historians. Nobody
really knows when the first fowl was
domesticated although Indian history
places the date as early as 3200 B.C.
Egyptian and Chinese records show
that domestic birds were laying eggs for
man in 1400 B.C. The dependability of
the rooster’s early morning call and the
regularity with which newly-laid eggs
appeared probably inspired the Chi-
nese to describe fowl as “the domestic
animal who knows time.”
It is believed that Columbus’ ships
carried the first of the chickens related
to those now in egg production to this
country. These strains originated in
Asia.
Answers to activities:
Best meaning for the word exposed is
b. left or being without shelter or
protection.
Best meaning for the word balanced
is c. diet that contains all nutrients the
body needs
Best meaning for the word genetics is
a. selecting and breeding animals for
improved performance
Page 3 -
Egg producers raise hens using dif-
ferent methods. How hens are kept
depend upon what consumers choose
to buy. For example, if consumers want
more Omega 3 rich eggs, egg farmers
will feed more hens a diet enriched with
Omega 3 to meet the demand.. The
chart on page 3 shows the differences
in all the eggs.
Page 4 -
Eggs from farm to your table shows
the steps in the process. Eggs laid on
the farm today may be in your store
tomorrow. If your students would like
to see a video of egg production, go
to: http://coloradoeggproducers.com/
resources/educational-resources/video-
egg-processing.
Page 5 -
More Information about Nutrition ~
Eggs are among the most nutri-
tious foods. An egg contains varying
amounts of 13 vitamins plus many
minerals. An egg yolk is one of the
few foods which contains vitamin D,
the sunshine vitamin. Eggs are low in
calories with only about 75 in a large
egg, yet high in protein. Egg protein is
of such high quality that it is often used
as the standard by which other protein
is measured.
Egg protein contains all the essential
amino acids in a pattern that matches
very closely the pattern the body
needs. This is why eggs are classified
with fish, meats and nuts in the protein
food group and why egg protein is
called complete protein.
A moderate amount of fat, about 5
grams, is found in a large egg yolk
(about 2 grams saturated fat and 3
grams unsaturated fat).
One large egg contains 213 mg of
cholesterol. Cholesterol is a fat-like
substance found in every living cell
in the body. It is made in necessary
amounts by the body and is stored in
the body. It is especially concentrated
in the liver, kidney, adrenal glands and
brain. Cholesterol is required for the
structure of cell walls, must be available
for the body to produce vitamin D, is
essential to the production of digestive
juices, insulated nerve fibers and is the
basic building block for many hor-
mones. Cholesterol is essential for life.