eggs- organic vs. cage free?
At the market yesterday I saw two different packages of eggs- one said "Organic" and one said "Cage Free". Does anyone know how each is defined?
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13 Comments:
I'm GUESSING that cage-free are let to roam free, and organic are organic only in the sense that there's no hormones or animal parts being fed to the chickens, but they're still in little chicken cages living miserable lives. I'd definitely go for the cage free, grain fed ones - it's one of the things I look for when buying chicken meat, too - "all natural" and "organic" mean nothing.
embolini9 at 2:19PM on 05/27/08
Organic eggs are required to be "cage-free" though that doesn't mean they're running around in pasture. Cage free means just that, not in a cage. They are able to be kept in barns with small doors that periodically offer a chance to go outside the barn to an enclosed area. Better than cages, but not free-range, pastured chickens or anything.
Ultimately, not much means much insofar as definitions for eggs. Read this from the USDA:
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/LDP/2006/12Dec/LDPM15001/ldpm15001.pdf
Note especially all of the things that eggs or chicken are labeled that "don't require third party certification."
ccbweb at 3:02PM on 05/27/08
Certified organic does mean something. The chickens are uncaged in barns or warehouses and get some outdoor access. They are fed organic, vegetarian diets without pesticides, synthetic hormones or antibiotics. They aren't necessarily humanely-raised hens. That's a separate label.
Cage-free means that the birds are not in cages. It does not, however, mean that the birds are "free." They are kept in barns or warehouses and not necessarily given any access to the outdoors. They are also not necessarily humanely-raised. They're still packed into very tight spaces.
I look for certified organic humanely raised eggs. They're definitely more expensive and almost certainly still wouldn't make you feel all warm and fuzzy if you thought too long about the living conditions.
Well, on that note, I've thought too long about that hard-boiled egg on my salad for lunch. Ick.
Wonder if my dog would like to share our urban apartment with a couple of actually humanely-raised, egg-laying chickens.
blackolive at 3:02PM on 05/27/08
Unfortunately, cage free doesn't mean much: not they are roaming around, only that they are not in cages. The chickens may have no access to the outdoors and may be packed into a barn or screened area. Hormones are illegal in poultry raising, so "hormone-free" is meaningless.
Organic would mean organic feed: no pesticides, no animal by-products, etc. Also they must have some access to the outdoors. So go with organic.
"Natural" might not mean much, but organic definitely does mean something, because it requires certification and regular inspection by officials. You have to be certified to use the label.
When in doubt, go organic.
Here is an excellent guide from a new magazine from Consumer Reports.
http://shopsmart.typepad.com/shopsmart_mag/files/food_labels.pdf
renzata at 3:03PM on 05/27/08
1. Organic means that, in theory, the chickens are being fed a hormone/antibiotics-free diet. They may or may not be still isolated in cages that are too small for them, and they may or may not be fed a vegetarian diet.
2. Cage-free means that the chickens are likely still indoors, but raised in huge lots instead of individual cages. Given the attitude of bored, overcrowded chickens, this may be no more or less cruel than caged birds, as bored chickens will peck at each other, and so farmers may opt to remove their beaks.
3. Grain-fed chickens are fed a vegetarian all grain diet. They may or may not receive supplemental injections to make up for the fact that chickens aren't supposed to be vegetarians (they're omnivores, like us). Grain fed chickens aren't malnourished per se, but they're like the guy who only eats meat and bread.
4. Pasture-raised chickens means that the chickens are allowed outside to forage (anywhere from a few minutes to all day). In theory it also means "cage-free" and "organic" but that varies from farmer to farmer. Unscrupulous operations will only allow the chickens outside for a few minutes a day in order to take advantage of the price hikes associated with labeling eggs "pasture-raised," whereas on the other extreme, farmers who raise grass-fed cattle or pasture-raised pigs may find it beneficial to have chickens hanging around as well.
In the end, unfortunately, the labels you read on eggs in a commercial grocery store are completely and utterly worthless. There's no real USDA regulation on those labels, so they could mean anything from what's intended to some unscrupulous operation making a cheap buck by "technically" operating that way. Whole Foods, Trader Joes, et al are a little better, but even those stores can be taken in and sell food that only minimally meets the requirement for the label. The only way to know for certain is to know the source. If you have a farmer's market or co-op, you can usually find local farmers selling the real deal, or you can google the source farmer or company to see if they really hold themselves to those standards or are taking you for a ride.
jenilowrance at 3:24PM on 05/27/08
good answers...admittedly I learned a lot about cage free.
I actually prefer organic fertilized...my wife grew up on a chicken farm and she says regular eggs "taste weird". Ha.
africanchocolate at 3:28PM on 05/27/08
The only place I trust to buy organic cage free eggs is the local farmers' market.
I remember the first time I saw Eggland eggs in the store, it said the hens were vegetarian fed. I was shocked! Aren't all hens fed vegetarian food, after all they are not carnivores! I knew so little and have since learned a lot about the food supply.
mrsadm at 3:47PM on 05/27/08
Of africanchoclate, you reminded me of my own egg question: why fertilized eggs? I saw them at Whole Foods but have no idea why people would prefer to eat them.
renzata at 3:48PM on 05/27/08
Another question about farmers market eggs: I've bought several, from different farmers, and have been consistently disappointed. They don't seem as fresh as the eggs from Whole Foods, etc., insofar as the whites are really loose (terrible for poaching). Also, the yolks are not deeply colored at all.
Could this have to do with the time the eggs spend unrefrigerated (even hot, here in Texas)? I know I've read that eggs age exponentially faster at room temp vs. the fridge. I was so looking forward to really great eggs, but nothing's come close.
renzata at 3:53PM on 05/27/08
"after all they are not carnivores"
They are not carnivores, but they are not vegetarians either. As jenilowrence wrote, they are omnivores, in that they are supposed to eat insects in addition to certain grasses, seeds and grains.
Pastured chickens that eat insects in their diets produce eggs that are much more nutrient dense, higher in Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. So while it may seem more expensive per egg, you are in fact getting much more for your money. They are better for you (to to mention the chickens themselves,) taste better, and often you will find that you need to use less of them in certain recipes, specifically in baking.
So, this question is about choosing the lesser of certain evils. When buying industrial eggs, you should buy the eggs that are fed organic food AND are also not confined to cages. Still not ideal, but better than the conventional ones.
simon at 4:07PM on 05/27/08
renzata, freshness will definitely impact the firmness of the yolk, which should hold it's spherical shape instead of flattening out into a disc. The color of the yolk has nothing to do with freshness though, everything to do with what they eat. Deeper orange colored yolks are richer in carotenoids. The whites should be almost cloudy. The eggs I get from farmer's markets here have orange yolks and the whites are like a gel. And they are not refrigerated. Same goes for the eggs I get in farmers' markets in France. But maybe they don't have to travel as far to market as yours do in Texas. Maybe you could go to the farm with your cooler instead of the farmers' market coming to you? Lots of info on eggs here.
simon at 4:14PM on 05/27/08
Way more than you really asked but...
So far the only two labels to mean much in the United States are "Organic" which has more to do with the feed than much else though it does guarantee cage-free and "access" to the outdoors (not that there will be much out there for them so why would they bother?) and Certified Humane Raised via the Humane Society of the US acting as a third party certifier.
The best to buy is indeed to get them straight from a local farmer who has a small flock (I know one who has about 300 and another who has 44... now) which can free-range through pastures (they don't have to be organic nor does the supplementary feed which has bubbled up in price recently -- the US just doesn't grow much organic instead relying on other countries so organic is bonus). Purchases can often be done via the Farmers Markets, or Co-Ops or even through Community Supported Agriculture.
However the egg that can't be beat (fortunately not literally) is one from your own yard. It's legal in a great many cities to keep a few hens. The cities include New York, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Madison, and many more plus new ones every month or so. They eat kitchen scraps, aerate lawns and gardens and produce great fertilizer. It's amazing the depth of personality a chicken can have so not only do they double as great pets but cheep entertainment too. :)
I really like this post on raising a micro-flock as it was the first to really get me thinking it could be done (there's a couple girls two blocks away and I'm taking them some turnip tops today). There's also a great link to understanding egg carton claims there from brown eggs to feed to omegas to hormones and antibiotics; however the picture they have of a battery cage hen is of a particularly healthy and not representative. The Humane Society themselves at their posting about the differences in caged versus uncaged has a better picture that better reflects reality for these poor birds yet isn't a gross picture as so many can be since these ladies spend a year or two in a wire cage with several others and less than a notebook paper size space to move around in before they are gassed for the next crew (sorry, my soapbox tripped me up again). It really is a miserable existence including having their feet grow into the wires and having their feathers rubbed off for being so closely packed in not to mention the ammonia of the buildings where thousands of their mates are also stuck in with them.
For a great 4 minute video on what a pastured operation is really like check out the Edible Portland blog. They featured a co-op. In the UK free-range actually means something and it is something like a cross between what it means here and what Pastured is for the girls in the video. Pastured is far healthier for the eater as well.
Here's another fun post on whether fresh eggs can be stored without refrigeration. The consensus I've found is that natural eggs have a coating that seals off the pores of the egg which gets washed off in production (the egg then usually gets a corn-based coating after a corn-based wash) so you don't want to leave supermarket eggs out for any time but from the farm unwashed they should be fine for at least several hours (I've heard of farmers finding an errant nest of a dozen for a broody hen and the eggs were all fine). The one thing about very fresh eggs is that they do not peel well when hard boiled. That is indeed a sign of freshness.
After seeing the pictures and the video it should be pretty explanatory the reasons for the cost differences. To give you the short answer to your question though, likely organic is the better of the two you had because organic already implied cage-free.
Sieseye at 1:11PM on 05/28/08
Someone above asked me about the fertile eggs. Actually all the research I have done does not suggest a significant difference in fertile vs. non-fertile eggs (although fertile eggs come from, most likely, cage-free chickens and have a bit of male hormone in them). A lot more depends on what you feed the chickens (in some parts of Latin America the chicken tastes like fish because their feed consists almost entirely of seafood). But the fertile DOES taste different, at least to me and my wife. A bit heartier. Difficult to describe.
africanchocolate at 5:38PM on 05/28/08