Myth Busting: Aren’t “Free-Range” and “Cage-Free” Eggs Humane?

We have all seen “free-range” and “cage-free” labels that the egg industry puts on its packaging. But what do these classifications actually mean? Let’s start with “free-range.” The popular idea that “free-range” hens enjoy fresh grass, bask in sunlight, scratch the earth, and engage in other natural habits is a myth. In most commercial “free-range” egg farms, hens are crowded inside windowless sheds with little more than a single, narrow exit leading to a small enclosure that can't accommodate many birds at once.

What about “cage-free?” Cage-free hens may not be squeezed into cages, but they are typically confined in dark, crowded buildings filled with disease and toxic gases. These hens are denied the simple pleasure of fresh air. Cage-free farms typically buy their hens from hatcheries that kill the male chicks upon hatching (because they have no commercial value to the egg industry).

Whether hens are living at “free-range,” “cage-free,” "organic," or conventional farms (in the US, over 95% of chickens raised for egg production live in battery cages), they all meet the same fate. Their beaks are mutilated by a process called debeaking, where part of their beak is burned off. Hens (who can naturally live more than ten years) are considered spent when they are just 1-2 years old and their productivity wanes. There is no such thing as a retirement home for spent chickens. All of them will be slaughtered for meat.

Now that you know more about these labels, you might be interested in egg alternatives (don't forget that eggs are also high in saturated fat and cholesterol). This article has some great information about replacing eggs in baking and cooking. Try out a tofu scramble for breakfast, bake a batch of orange poppy seed muffins or devour some berry-covered french toast.

Don't trust the labels...