Do Egg Labels Mean What They Say?

Understanding the labels on the egg carton.

"We are told we are being "emotional" if we care about a chicken and grieve over a chicken's plight." – Karen Davis.

There have been several times people have told me that they only buy free-range eggs, and they believe that if the chickens are free-range, they have a much better life than chickens in cages.

Well in a way they do… heck, anything would have a better life if it's not cramped up living in a cage. But is confinement of any sort just as bad?

 So do you know which eggs genuinely are free-range? If all you've got to go by is the label on the carton, then know that it is indeed a very grey area. So what constitutes free-range?

 I think we'd all agree the words' battery' 'caged' even 'colony cage' all mean that the hens are living in cages.

And, 'barn raised' or just 'barn' would mean that the hens live in a barn and do not go outdoors.

But it's when we get to the words 'free-range' that the misinterpretations happen.

Free-range conjures up visions of chickens roaming around lush, green pastures just doing their thing. That's what the happy pictures on the labels give the illusion to. Yet when questioned, most people have no idea how the farmer collects the eggs from these free-ranging hens. It is the part we don't think about. Does the farmer go outside with a basket and collect the eggs from the ground? Or, which is more likely, are the hens housed at night in a barn, and that's where they lay their eggs in nesting boxes?

The truth is most 'free-range' hens actually spend their entire life in barns. Barns that have doors leading to the outside but these doors are sparsely spaced, small and not at all encouraging. Because the barn is full of hens, and I mean FULL most of these chickens never reach the doors and therefore live their lives in a barn. 

Technically, they are free-range because they have the choice to go outside. 

Many countries, including N.Z., don't have regulations around free-range or offer any certification.

It usually is a matter of just how big the commercial operation is. One has to weigh up how many chickens are on the farm and the logistics of feeding, egg collection etc. as to how 'free-range' they are.

Smaller free-range farmers do let their hens range in the open, obviously bringing them in at night. This protects the hens from the elements (weather), from other animals and gives them a roosting and egg-laying area.

I think the best idea I've ever seen is a movable nesting box called a "Chicken Caravan" made in Australia. The beauty of this is that the farmer can move the chickens to fresh paddocks when needed and bring the nesting box at the same time. The hens then can lay their eggs when the desire takes them. Naturally, this only works for a smaller farm.

Getting back to the labels. In N.Z. the egg federation instigated a 'Trace My Egg' programme. It is a voluntary system which egg producers sign up for. Each egg is stamped with a 5-digit code, and by putting this code into a website, the consumer can trace the production method and the individual farm it has come from.

Sadly there was a fraudulent case last year when it was discovered one farmer had been stamping his caged eggs as free-range.  It probably isn't the only case.

So that you know, a lot of commercial free-range companies are owned by large corporations that also have caged hens. Where does that put you if you buy free-range for ethical reasons?

Okay, let's say you're happy having 'free-range' and you trust the brand on the egg carton because you have researched them. But let me ask you this. Do you know what happens to the chicken at the start of its life and when a hen no longer can produce eggs?

Remember, all eggs from caged to free-range are commercial operations. It is the farmer's livelihood. He must get his young chickens from somewhere because he won't have the room to breed them and he has to get rid of the older hens when they are no longer economically viable.  

Regardless where they are going, chickens all come from the same place - a breeding farm dedicated to raising female hens for the egg market. The baby chicks at one day old are inspected - if female they live but if male they go straight into the chute that drops them into a grinder or crusher called a macerator, and they end up as animal/fish food or fertilizer.

There's no let-up at the end of the chicken's laying life. Once she can no longer lay profitably (which is usually around 18 months), she is then crammed inside transport cages along with others and trucked to slaughter with no food or water on the journey.

The killing process is usually pretty archaic, barbaric and torturous, especially in the U.S. The way they are killed is deemed illegal with cattle or pigs and other mammals but is acceptable for fowl. 

I'm going to leave you with a chart recently put out by SAFE (N.Z. animal welfare group). You'll find it easy to understand, and you'll have a lot better idea what the labels really do mean. (If you live in other countries, you should check to see if these apply).

Please understand that most labels on the egg cartons are just marketing hype.

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Have great plant food and be compassionate to all animals, including humans.

Fee

Gold Card Vegan