The Names Have Changed to Confuse the Innocent

Have you ever seriously read through the labels on egg cartons at your local supermarket?  Do you have any clue what they mean?  It might surprise you, just like it did me, to know that the government does not set requirements or definitions for egg carton labels with the exception of "certified organic".  I did a little research and hope to shed some light on this label confusion.  What follows is my understanding of all I have read on this subject.

First of all, terms like "farm fresh" and "all natural" are really meaningless.  They are used to create a picture in the mind of the consumer portraying a farmer gathering his eggs and rushing them off to the supermarket.

Most of the eggs in our country (some agencies say up to 95%) are laid by caged chickens.  These hens are usually confined in as little as 67 square inches of space.  They don't get to walk around, stretch, spread their wings or any other natural behavior.  Many also have things done to them to manipulate the laying cycle.  These eggs are probably the very cheapest you can buy at your local supermarket.

The next level up in the label mystery is "cage-free".  This simply means that although still very crowded, they are not physically in a small cage.  They can walk, stretch, spread their wings and lay in a nest.  Normally these hens never get to go outdoors.  Each bird ends up with about a square foot of space.  Many cage-free producers are audited for various certifications and therefore are required to provide perching and dust bathing areas.  I have purchased these in the supermarket for around $7.00 for 18 eggs (before we started raising chickens).

Moving on up is the "free-range" category.  This just means that the chickens have access to the outdoors, although this normally means a small screened in area with either a concrete or dirt floor and little or no grass.  In most cases this category is strikingly similar to "cage-free".  The chickens are still very crowded.

The gold standard is "pasture raised".  These chickens spend most of their time outdoors with plenty of space and access to shelter.  They have access to grass, worms and insects as well as feed. They are allowed the more natural behaviors of chickens such as foraging, dust bathing and such.

These different categories of eggs can range in price up to $7-8.00 per 18 "cage-free" eggs at the supermarket.  Most farmers charge around $4.00 - 5.00 per dozen for their fresh eggs.

Personally, our chickens are truly pasture raised with a lot of land to roam on.  They wander about during the day foraging for worms, insects and seeds in the grass and dust/sun bathe when they please.  There is a coop with nest boxes and roosts to which they return at the end of the day.  You know "all chickens come home to roost".  We close them in at night to protect them from predators, but open the doors early each morning so they can "fly the coop". They come and go at will.

As I have mentioned before, there is no comparison between a true pasture raised egg and one from the other categories. In a study done by Mother Earth News which compared pastured eggs to the USDA standard conventional egg - the pastured eggs were considerably higher in vitamins A and E and Omega-3s.  In addition the pastured eggs were found to be lower in cholesterol and saturated fat. However, the noticeable difference is the taste.  Eggs purchased from local farmers are very reasonably priced especially when quality is of utmost importance.  This also provides an opportunity to help out a local farmer who really does rise at dawn to tend chickens and gather fresh eggs.

We, and many others, offer our fresh pasture raised eggs at around $4.00-5.00 per dozen.  The next time you see a "Fresh Eggs" sign, stop in and get you some.  You will not regret it!

This baby girl LOVES fresh eggs!