Farm Fresh Eggs

On Sunday I stopped by the Takoma Park Farmers Market to buy some apples. On the way out, I noticed that one of the stalls still had fresh eggs. I'd read glowing accounts of farm fresh eggs in various publications. In the Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan praises them to the point that one would think that they would be so superior as to render all other egg eating experiences null and void. In any case, I also just needed some eggs. The guys who sold them to me said I would never go back to store-bought eggs. They claimed these eggs would change my life. The tones in their voice made the first claim sounded serious, while the second one seemed to waver on the line between sarcasm and sincerity. When I got home I made an egg sandwich with one of the eggs, and honestly, it tasted no different than any other egg sandwich I've made. I suppose I should point out that I don't buy regular grocery store eggs, but instead opt for the slightly pricier Giving Nature eggs from Whole Foods. As Pollan pointed out in Omnivore's Dilemma, a lot of the claims made by products sold at Whole Foods adhere more to the letter of the law than the intent, meaning they do as little as they can to be certified as organic, or free-range. In any case, I hold out the belief (or the self-delusion) that my Whole Food eggs are more-or-less like farm fresh eggs, and since they basically tasted like the eggs that came fresh from Smithfield Farm, perhaps there really isn't much difference there. So, it appears I paid about twice as much (nearly $4.50) for the farmers market eggs that had no difference in taste, did not change my life, and left me with no reason why I shouldn't continue buying the cheaper eggs at Whole Foods. To make matters worse, I became violently sick on sunday night and all day monday. Most likely it's a stomach flu, but what if the eggs were involved? More reason to regret buying the fancy farmer's market eggs.