New Categories of Eggs: What Do the Labels on Egg Cartons Mean?

Within the last few years, seemingly "new" eggs have been popping up in the dairy aisle at the supermarket, often with pricetags several times that of the "old" eggs. The difference seems to be in nothing but the labels. "Cage Free." "Free Range." "Animal Care Certified." "Organic." They sound good... but what do they mean? Are they worth the extra cost?

What's Wrong With Regular Eggs?

Often less than a dollar a dozen, no special labels... what's wrong with the unlabeled, standard old eggs? The reason so many labels have been popping up is that more and more people are becoming aware there's something wrong with the standard way of doing things. The standard way is factory farming. Factory farm hens are kept in extremely confined, unsanitary conditions that allow for almost none of their natural behaviors and promote illness and disease, including Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. Coli bacteria which can be transmitted to humans through eggs. For moral and health reasons, many people are choosing not to promote these practices by buying factory farmed eggs.

But are specially labeled eggs any better?

Animal Care Certified & United Egg Producers Certified

Until a few years ago, most eggs in the US (about 80%) came with a label stating they were "Animal Care Certified." This certification system was created by and for the egg production industry. It meant essentially nothing, and falsely implied that the hens who produced these eggs were treated humanely. In 2005, the Federal Trade Commission agreed with animal rights activists and called the label false advertising. Since then, the label has been changed to "United Egg Producers Certified." It still means little, if you're looking for eggs that were produced other than by the industry standard.

Cage Free

Cage free hens are slightly better off because they're not in cages. In no other way are they better off. They're still kept in extremely overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, and they're still subject to all other standard practices including debeaking and forced molting. But being housed in sheds or pens instead of cages does give them a somewhat greater ability to move around and exercise.

Free Range

In the lingo of at-home, hobbyist poultry keepers, "free range" means unconfined birds allowed to roam as they please. However, according to the USDA and hence the egg industry, "free range" means only that birds have "access to the outdoors." This often means only a few square feet of a dirt-floored run, which allows for none of the natural scratching and foraging behaviors that "free range" is meant to mean. Additionally, it means doubly nothing because most hens, raised their entire lives in close confinement, don't take advantage of the run even when it's available.

Organic

In egg production, "organic" by USDA standards means the laying hens are:

- Fed organic feed (vegetarian, non-genetically engineered ingredients grown without insecticides or pesticides).
- Housed "under conditions which allow for exercise