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What’s the Difference Between Free-Range, Cage-Free, and Pasture-Raised Eggs?
Egg cartons can be surprisingly confusing This post originally appeared in an edition of What’s the Difference?, a weekly newsletter for the curious and confused by New York City writer Brette Warshaw. Eater will be publishing all editions that parse food-related differences, though those hardly scratch the surface of the world’s (and the newsletter’s) curiosities: Sign up to get What’s the Difference? in your inbox or catch up on the full archive. What’s the Difference between… Cage-free, Pasture-raised, Free-range, and Organic Eggs? When you’re in the supermarket egg aisle, it’s impossible to not feel a little bombarded by all the different available options — cage-free, organic, and pasture-raised among them. And whether you’re interested in buying eggs from ethically raised chickens or looking for an egg that is the most nutritious, it’s important to realize that not all eggs are laid equally. Unfortunately, use of terms like “cage-free” and “pasture-raised” can be somewhat misleading, because those phrases aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration or United States Department of Agriculture. Chickens who lay organic eggs, on the other hand, must be fed organic feed and allowed access to the outdoors. If this all seems confusing, that’s because it is, and there’s not much oversight into whether or not chickens who are producing cage-free eggs or free-range eggs actually have better lives than their factory-farmed counterparts. To help sort through the marketing noise, use this glossary as a guide to make buying eggs just a little bit less complicated. Grade A The vast majority of eggs sold in grocery stores in the United States are Grade A eggs. According to the North Carolina Egg Association, that means that the egg’s shell is clean, unbroken, and without physical deformities like bumps and ridges. The inside of the egg — the yolk and the white — is reasonably full, and the egg whites are nice and firm, while the yolk is “round and stands up tall.” Grade A is technically the second-highest grade of egg quality behind Grade AA, but those are much more rare on supermarket shelves. Cage-free Cage-free is one of only a few egg terms regulated by the USDA. It means that the eggs come from hens that, put simply, aren’t caged: They can “freely roam a building, room, or enclosed area with unlimited access to food and fresh water during their production cycle, but [do] not have access to the outdoors.” Considering the conventional cage is 8½ by 11 inches, or the size of a piece of paper, this seems like a better lifestyle — but there are downsides, too. According to All About Eggs by Rachel Khong, cage-free facilities have more hen-on-hen violence and lower air quality than facilities that use cages. Free-range Another USDA term, “free range” means that the eggs come from hens that have some sort of access to the outdoors. However, it doesn’t mean that the hens actually go outdoors, or that the outdoor space is more than a small, fenced-in area; it simply implies that a door exists that a farmer could at some point open. Pasture-raised Pasture-raised is not a term regulated by the USDA; however, if the carton says “pasture-raised” and also includes stamps that say “Certified Humane” and/or “Animal Welfare Approved,” it means that each hen was given 108 square feet of outdoor space, as well as barn space indoors. This is pretty much as close to the bucolic, E-I-E-I-O farm vibe you’ll get when dealing with large-scale egg producers, so if you’re looking to support those practices, keep a look out for those labels. Organic The USDA regulates the use of the term “organic” through its National Organic Program. Eggs sold with the organic label must be fed a 100-percent organic diet, and must be raised in cage-less environments with access to the outdoors. Antibiotic-free (or hormone-free) Hormone-free means that the hen wasn’t administered hormones, which isn’t particularly commendable — considering that hormones and steroids are already banned by the FDA. No Added Antibiotics is another funny term, because very few hens are administered antibiotics — and those that are end up being “diverted from human consumption” anyway. Vegetarian-fed When it comes to eggs labeled vegetarian-fed, it’s worth noting that chickens are actually omnivorous; they love worms and bugs and larvae and other crawly things. However, in the mass-scale production sense, they’re not necessarily doing Whole30 — they’re getting fed animal byproducts, like feather meal or chicken litter. So depending on the context, vegetarian-fed can actually be the lesser of two evils. Okay, so which of these egg labels is actually best? Cartons stamped with the Certified Humane or Animal Welfare Approved seal are good bets — both designations are administered by third-party groups. When it comes to brands, Vital Farms, Family Homestead, Oliver’s Organic, Happy Egg Co., and Pete and Gerry’s all have particularly good repu
Egg cartons can be surprisingly confusing
This post originally appeared in an edition of What’s the Difference?, a weekly newsletter for the curious and confused by New York City writer Brette Warshaw. Eater will be publishing all editions that parse food-related differences, though those hardly scratch the surface of the world’s (and the newsletter’s) curiosities: Sign up to get What’s the Difference? in your inbox or catch up on the full archive.
What’s the Difference between…
Cage-free, Pasture-raised, Free-range, and Organic Eggs?
When you’re in the supermarket egg aisle, it’s impossible to not feel a little bombarded by all the different available options — cage-free, organic, and pasture-raised among them. And whether you’re interested in buying eggs from ethically raised chickens or looking for an egg that is the most nutritious, it’s important to realize that not all eggs are laid equally.
Unfortunately, use of terms like “cage-free” and “pasture-raised” can be somewhat misleading, because those phrases aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration or United States Department of Agriculture. Chickens who lay organic eggs, on the other hand, must be fed organic feed and allowed access to the outdoors. If this all seems confusing, that’s because it is, and there’s not much oversight into whether or not chickens who are producing cage-free eggs or free-range eggs actually have better lives than their factory-farmed counterparts.
To help sort through the marketing noise, use this glossary as a guide to make buying eggs just a little bit less complicated.
Grade A
The vast majority of eggs sold in grocery stores in the United States are Grade A eggs. According to the North Carolina Egg Association, that means that the egg’s shell is clean, unbroken, and without physical deformities like bumps and ridges. The inside of the egg — the yolk and the white — is reasonably full, and the egg whites are nice and firm, while the yolk is “round and stands up tall.” Grade A is technically the second-highest grade of egg quality behind Grade AA, but those are much more rare on supermarket shelves.
Cage-free
Cage-free is one of only a few egg terms regulated by the USDA. It means that the eggs come from hens that, put simply, aren’t caged: They can “freely roam a building, room, or enclosed area with unlimited access to food and fresh water during their production cycle, but [do] not have access to the outdoors.” Considering the conventional cage is 8½ by 11 inches, or the size of a piece of paper, this seems like a better lifestyle — but there are downsides, too. According to All About Eggs by Rachel Khong, cage-free facilities have more hen-on-hen violence and lower air quality than facilities that use cages.
Free-range
Another USDA term, “free range” means that the eggs come from hens that have some sort of access to the outdoors. However, it doesn’t mean that the hens actually go outdoors, or that the outdoor space is more than a small, fenced-in area; it simply implies that a door exists that a farmer could at some point open.
Pasture-raised
Pasture-raised is not a term regulated by the USDA; however, if the carton says “pasture-raised” and also includes stamps that say “Certified Humane” and/or “Animal Welfare Approved,” it means that each hen was given 108 square feet of outdoor space, as well as barn space indoors. This is pretty much as close to the bucolic, E-I-E-I-O farm vibe you’ll get when dealing with large-scale egg producers, so if you’re looking to support those practices, keep a look out for those labels.
Organic
The USDA regulates the use of the term “organic” through its National Organic Program. Eggs sold with the organic label must be fed a 100-percent organic diet, and must be raised in cage-less environments with access to the outdoors.
Antibiotic-free (or hormone-free)
Hormone-free means that the hen wasn’t administered hormones, which isn’t particularly commendable — considering that hormones and steroids are already banned by the FDA. No Added Antibiotics is another funny term, because very few hens are administered antibiotics — and those that are end up being “diverted from human consumption” anyway.
Vegetarian-fed
When it comes to eggs labeled vegetarian-fed, it’s worth noting that chickens are actually omnivorous; they love worms and bugs and larvae and other crawly things. However, in the mass-scale production sense, they’re not necessarily doing Whole30 — they’re getting fed animal byproducts, like feather meal or chicken litter. So depending on the context, vegetarian-fed can actually be the lesser of two evils.
Okay, so which of these egg labels is actually best?
Cartons stamped with the Certified Humane or Animal Welfare Approved seal are good bets — both designations are administered by third-party groups. When it comes to brands, Vital Farms, Family Homestead, Oliver’s Organic, Happy Egg Co., and Pete and Gerry’s all have particularly good reputations, as do Safeway’s cage-free eggs and Kirkland organic eggs at Costco.
• What’s the Difference Between Cage-Free, Free-Range, Pasture-Raised, and Organic Eggs? [wtd]
