Decoding cartons: what are the best eggs to buy?
Posted 01-15-2016 at 08:09 AM by DavidRaonic
How often do they get outside? How much exercise do they get? How's their diet? Are they taking any supplements? Picking the right eggs can seem as complicated and daunting as a trip to the doctor's office. There are more than a dozen ways to describe and label eggs. Depending on what's important to you, some of these ways are very meaningful, others perhaps aren't worth clucking about. So let's crack them open and see what's inside:
Organic – This is the golden yolk standard for hen health and welfare. Producers in this system give hens space, nest boxes, perches and litter. Hens get 100% organic feed and access to fresh air and sunshine. Usually the most expensive option, these eggs tick a lot of boxes for hens and people alike.
Free-range – Probably the next best option from the hen's perspective. These eggs come from hens allowed to move around freely in a barn and to have access to the outdoors. They tend to get nest boxes, perches and litter for dust bathing.
Free run – These eggs come from hens that can move freely in a barn and are sometimes provided with perches and nest boxes. According to World Animal Protection's Choose Cage-Free campaign, free run, free-range and organic all allow hens to express natural behaviours, spread their wings and walk around.
Furnished cage, nest laid, comfort coop – These eggs come from hens living in cages. Arguably somewhat larger, nicer cages, but still cages. They get some nest boxes, but not usually enough.
Omega 3 – These eggs come from hens that are fed a supplement of Omega-3 fatty acids, usually flax seed. Unless the carton also says free-range, the hens laying these eggs are kept in cages.
Brown eggs, large eggs – Eggs labelled by colour or size don't tell you much about the hen's living conditions or the egg's nutritional value. Larger eggs are usually from older birds, smaller eggs from younger ones. Why an egg is brown or white is a matter of some debate, but most people believe it correlates to the hen's earlobe colour.
Standard – These eggs are from hens living in small and overcrowded cages with poor ventilation. In barns with thousands of other birds, these hens each live in a space the size of an iPad with little room to spread their wings.
The ways we label our food presents us with challenges every time we go to the grocery store, but it also gives us the opportunity to pick what's important to us.
Organic – This is the golden yolk standard for hen health and welfare. Producers in this system give hens space, nest boxes, perches and litter. Hens get 100% organic feed and access to fresh air and sunshine. Usually the most expensive option, these eggs tick a lot of boxes for hens and people alike.
Free-range – Probably the next best option from the hen's perspective. These eggs come from hens allowed to move around freely in a barn and to have access to the outdoors. They tend to get nest boxes, perches and litter for dust bathing.
Free run – These eggs come from hens that can move freely in a barn and are sometimes provided with perches and nest boxes. According to World Animal Protection's Choose Cage-Free campaign, free run, free-range and organic all allow hens to express natural behaviours, spread their wings and walk around.
Furnished cage, nest laid, comfort coop – These eggs come from hens living in cages. Arguably somewhat larger, nicer cages, but still cages. They get some nest boxes, but not usually enough.
Omega 3 – These eggs come from hens that are fed a supplement of Omega-3 fatty acids, usually flax seed. Unless the carton also says free-range, the hens laying these eggs are kept in cages.
Brown eggs, large eggs – Eggs labelled by colour or size don't tell you much about the hen's living conditions or the egg's nutritional value. Larger eggs are usually from older birds, smaller eggs from younger ones. Why an egg is brown or white is a matter of some debate, but most people believe it correlates to the hen's earlobe colour.
Standard – These eggs are from hens living in small and overcrowded cages with poor ventilation. In barns with thousands of other birds, these hens each live in a space the size of an iPad with little room to spread their wings.
The ways we label our food presents us with challenges every time we go to the grocery store, but it also gives us the opportunity to pick what's important to us.
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