breed of chicken, and it is largely controlled by market
demands. In most of New England, brown eggs are the
norm, while the majority of the rest of the country prefers
white eggs. They are completely interchangeable.
Egg Labeling
Q: I miss the old days, when I could walk into the
supermarket and pick up a carton of eggs without feeling
like I was making an important life decision. These days,
there are dozens of varieties to choose from. What do all
the labels mean?
It is confusing, and it largely has to do with growing
consumer awareness about the conditions in which egg-
laying chickens are kept. Most spend their lives as little
more than egg-producing machines, housed in batteries of
individual cages, unable to spread their wings or even
move, with little or no access to a space where a chicken
could perform its natural behaviors. The label on the carton
can be an indication of better welfare for the birds.
- Natural indicates that the eggs are minimally processed,
but since all eggs are sold minimally processed, the label
effectively means nothing. Similarly, the term Farm-Fresh
carries with it no guarantees, because presumably nobody
is selling rotten eggs that don’t come from a farm. - Free-Range, Free-Roaming, and Cage-Free eggs come
from chickens that are not kept in battery cages, but
instead in large open barns or warehouses. That is a major
improvement in quality of life for the chickens, allowing
them to engage in natural behaviors like pecking, dust-