How to Be a Conscious Eater by Sophie Egan

Author:Sophie Egan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Published: 2020-01-28T21:54:31+00:00

These labels represent the vast gray area in between meaningless and meaningful—not bad, but the intention- to-reality ratio is murky:

“Cage-Free.” Hens are likely still raised in very confined quarters squished up against each other, and they may or may not be let outdoors. But at least they’re not in tiny cages, and in theory they are free to move around and do their usual chicken thing. Cage-free means a lot more when buying eggs—whose hens are indeed most commonly confined to cruelly small cages—than it does when buying chicken, because broilers aren’t usually raised in cages to begin with.

“Free-Range” or “Free-Roaming.” This one is often interchangeable with “cage-free,” except its extra selling point is outdoor access. The problem is that there’s no regulatory definition of free-range, so in practice the outdoor space could be quite small, and that access might be available to only a fraction of the hens in a given house. It’s best if it’s attached to a third-party verification for animal welfare standards.

“Pasture-Raised.” A fairly good indicator, the term means birds were mostly raised outside and let loose to roam and forage for food. Consider it a notch above free-range and cage-free. That said, it’s not enforced by the USDA, so the exact meaning is rather hazy. Your best bet is to trust this claim when it is paired with one of the legit animal welfare labels like “Certified Humane Raised and Handled.”

“Vegetarian-Fed.” This is fairly straightforward, but the reason it’s noteworthy is that a lot of agribusiness involves feeding food animals parts of other animals. Although this issue isn’t as relevant in the egg industry as it is in meat and poultry, it can be a reassurance for some shoppers, and especially vegetarian shoppers.

“Omega-3s.” This label means the hens’ feed included one of the main sources of omega-3 fatty acids—most commonly fish oil, flaxseeds, or flaxseed oil. Although you can indeed add to your daily omega-3 tally this way, the challenge is knowing which type of omega-3 and how much you’re getting, since the conversion to human nutrient is unclear on the packaging and not required on the label. These eggs are probably perfectly fine to eat, but can sometimes be a waste of the extra money. You might focus your omega-hunting attentions elsewhere in your diet, such as by eating fish or flaxseed directly.

Finally, pay attention to what the egg carton is made of. Buy eggs whose containers are cardboard, ideally, which is compostable. Second choice is plastic, which is at least recyclable. Never buy eggs in Styrofoam. That material is all-around bad and should be eliminated from use wherever it still manages to turn up.

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