Understanding Egg Carton Labels Egg Talk Expansion: Understanding Egg Carton Labels

Cage-Free This means that the chickens simply don’t have cages. They are usually still in a long barn, always inside, though they’re able to move around and perch. However, these chickens have limited space, are often overcrowded in the barns, will fight each other, and suffer from poor air quality.

Free-Range Organic Outdoor access Free Range: The only requirement for this label is that they are cage-free, with added access to the outdoors. This might just be a small, screened-in cement area that a chicken might never even go to. Organic: These chickens have to be free-range, hormone/antibiotic free, and fed an organic diet.

Vegetarian diet Omega-3 Vegetarian Diet: Vegetarian chickens are probably only being fed corn that’s been fortified with amino acids, and are less healthy. Chickens are omnivores and should be eating bugs! Omega-3: Eggs already have omega-3 acids, and the chickens were probably just fed some flax seed to increase it a bit.

Hormone-free and no antibiotics All natural or farm fresh Hormone/Antibiotic Free: It’s already illegal in the US to give hormones or antibiotics to egg producing hens, so this label doesn’t mean anything. All Natural and Farm Fresh: These labels mean nothing, and there’s no requirements to use these labels on eggs.

Pasture raised This one is pretty close to how it sounds, though it varies depending on the farm. These chickens spend most of their lives outdoors, but they might have less or more space, they might rotate fields or stay in the same spot all of the time, and they might have bushes and trees in their field or just flat land.

Certified Humane and Animal Welfare Approved These farms were approved by a third-party organization, though each organization might have its own definition of “humane”.

Chickens wearing sweaters!