Free-range eggs aren’t all they’re cracked up to be: the realities of factory farming render the phrase almost meaningless.
Unlike the term "USDA Organic," which can only be applied to eggs and other foods that meet specific guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the use of the term "free-range" is far less strict.
Free-Range Eggs, the Tooth Fairy, and Bigfoot
According to the USDA, any hens that have regular access to an outdoor area -- a patch of cement or a small, fenced gravel yard -- can be called a free-range chicken. Even if a hen gets just five minutes of outdoor time a day, she qualifies as a free-range chicken.
But the USDA does not recognize the term "free-range" as applying to eggs, only to poultry -- in other words, save your egg money. Likewise for cage-free eggs: "cage-free" is strictly a marketing term that has no official or USDA standing, so anyone can call their eggs cage-free even if all it means is that the chickens were raised in a small, crowded shed. And there is no third-party verification of either free-range or cage-free eggs, so caveat emptor.
Eggs-actly How Healthy Are They?
Despite these facts, some advocates of free-range or cage-free eggs and poultry insist the products are more nutritious. Mother Earth News has published several reports that claim free-range eggs have more nutrients and less cholesterol and fat than commercial eggs. Note, however, that their eggs came from chickens that lived in open fields, feeding on plants and bugs -- that's not the same as "free-range," so their results are skewed.
And a recent study from the USDA, as reported in Time, found no difference in nutritional value between organic and commercial eggs.
The Cheep Alternative
As far as other marketing gimmicks go, brown eggs are nothing more than eggs of a different color, so don't spend more on these. In short, if you're looking for a greener product, skip the free-range or cage-free eggs -- and their higher prices -- and head directly for the organic products, as these are the only ones that have strict, well-defined criteria for feed, antibiotics and processing.
But if you want a good egg that's safe and nutritious, and you're unconcerned about environmental issues or humane treatment of animals, then save some money and buy cheep -- I mean, cheap -- ordinary commercial eggs.
