Food labels can often be confusing or even misleading. Let’s break them down together.
When you see the label “free range”, what do you picture?
Chickens frolicking through green pasture all day long?! At least that’s what the picture on some egg cartons shows, but that may not be the reality.
There are so many options at the store: Free-range, Certified Humane, Cage-free, Omega-3 Enriched, Organic, Vegetarian Fed, etc.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed and just choose the first carton you find without a broken egg or the one with the prettiest picture.
Let’s dig into what all the labels actually mean.
CONVENTIONALLY RAISED
These are the most inexpensive eggs on the grocery store shelf and account for the majority of eggs produced in the country. These are usually generic brands and make no special label claims.
Chickens are raised in massive buildings with thousands of other chickens, each with their own cage just big enough for them to stand in. That’s where they spend 100% of their lives.
They eat, poop, and lay their eggs in this tiny cage, never getting to scratch & dig in the grass, hunt for bugs, feel the sunshine or breathe fresh air.
Their eggs are most likely washed in a chlorine solution to remove all of the bacteria, can be given routine antibiotics, and the chickens are fed all kinds of GMO grain, soy, and/or animal products.
CAGE FREE
This is a tiny step up from conventional eggs as the hens aren’t confined to cages and are free to roam around in a large building. However, they usually only have 1.5 square foot per chicken with no access to outside.
They have the same feed as conventional chickens, antibiotic use isn’t regulated and their eggs are also usually washed in chlorine or lye to remove bacteria.
FREE RANGE
Free range chickens are not in cages and they get access to the outside, though they may not ever step foot outside. The USDA recommends 1.5 - 2.0 feet per chicken.
Most commercial egg producers have their chickens in large buildings and provide a door for chickens to go outside. The chickens can walk around and get exercise, but the outdoor access is not readily available, and it can lead to a concrete area to make cleaning easier, so they may not even have access to grass.
On the other hand, a lot of small farm producers or even families with chickens use this term to explain how their chickens roam around their yard, making this label especially confusing for the average consumer.
This is why it's important to know your farmer and be confident in exactly how their chickens are raised and cared for.
If eggs are “Certified Humane Free Range”, this means that the hens are outdoors, weather permitting, for at least six hours per day.
VEGETARIAN FED
Most conventional chicken feed contains animal by-products, so with this label, the feed is strictly vegetarian and contains no animal by-products. There are no guidelines for how the chickens are raised with this label, so they are most likely still raised in large houses.
However, chickens are omnivores by nature so they LOVE bugs, worms and little critters if given the opportunity!
OMEGA-3 ENRICHED
These eggs come from hens given feed rich in omega-3 fatty acids. This label says nothing about how the hens are raised, thus cages are still allowed under this label.
HORMONE-FREE OR NATURAL
These are both marketing gimmicks. Laying hens are not given hormones and all eggs are considered “natural”.
ORGANIC
These chickens eat feed that is grown without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. The chickens must be uncaged and have access to the outdoors, just like free range.
However, these chickens can still be raised inside massive buildings and may not ever go outside.
Their eggs are less likely to have harmful bacteria, but most producers still wash them with either chlorine or lye. This can be a state requirement for large egg producers.
PASTURE RAISED
Though not a USDA regulated claim, these chickens have the best animal welfare and their eggs are the most nutritious.
Most farmers claiming to have “pasture raised” eggs move their hens with some kind of regular frequency to fresh pasture and chickens are raised mostly (if not 100%) outdoors, where they thrive.
Studies have shown that pasture-raised eggs have almost 3x the omega 3 fats, 75% lower omega-6:omega-3 ratio, 2/3 more Vitamin A, 4x the amount of Vitamin D, almost 3x the amount of Vitamin E, almost 7x the beta-carotene, and decreased cholesterol and fat.
All of this is because chickens live how you’d imagine in your mind and how nature intended - outside! Chickens can forage in the grass for bugs, worms, seeds, or whatever else they are naturally built to eat, all the while enjoying fresh air & sunshine.
The farmer usually will give the hens a non-GMO or organic feed, but about 30% of their diet comes from what they can forage in the pasture.
BIG TAKEAWAYS
In my opinion, knowing and trusting your farmer goes further than any label. That way, you can have the utmost confidence in the food you’re eating and feeding your family.
At our farm, our hens are raised 100% outdoors in a mobile coop that has roosting bars for them to sleep at night and roll away nesting boxes, meaning very clean eggs!
Their mobile coop is surrounded by a large pasture space protected by electric netting and a livestock guardian dog. Joe moves this whole set-up once a week to fresh grass. If it’s daylight, the hens are usually foraging, taking dust baths, or hunting for bugs.
We give them a non-GMO laying hen feed from a feed mill just a few hours away. Happy and well-fed hens!
If you’re not already following our farm on Facebook or Instagram, we’d love for you to join along so you can get a sense for how and why we farm.
In addition, we plan to offer spring and fall farm tours, so join our email list at the bottom of the blog so you’ll be the first to receive that info!
Tell us in the comments below something you learned that you didn’t know already. After reading this, what is important to you when it comes to your eggs?