ELI5, why are egg yokes from outward the U.S. much more orange than in the States?

Question

ELI5, why are egg yokes from outward the U.S. much more orange than in the States?

In: 43

Answer 1

It’s not a matter of US vs non-US; you can get orange and even nearly red yolks in the states. What you’re seeing is the difference between free-range vs grain-fed chickens. The free-range birds forage various grasses and proteins (grubs/insects/etc) and get more beta carotene, which gives the yolks that darker color.

You can see a similar phenomenon in grass-fed vs grain-fed beef, where the fat on pasture-raised beef has a yellowish-orange hue vs the white you normally see with industrially farmed cattle.