If you plan on buying chicken at a grocery store you will find a myriad of terms jump out at you while perusing the poultry aisle. “Natural,” “grass-fed,” “cage-free,” “free-range” – the list goes on. As with the previous Greeniacs , companies tweak wording on their labels, or purposefully use vague wording to mislead consumers. Most consumers would agree that it is important to know where your meat comes from – both from a moral and a health standpoint. While the infamous Portlandia 1 skit “Farm” pokes fun at customers’ desire to know where their chicken was raised, the episode reflects the growing consumer consciousness about food fraud in the United States.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160404104229if_/http://www.youtube.com/embed/WAlWrT5P2VI i
Deciphering Labels
What do all of these marketing terms actually mean? In a Huffington Post article, leading chef Ariane Daguin 2 broke it down for readers. Terms to avoid include “grass-fed,” “pasture-raised,” and “humane.” “Grass-fed” refers only to what the chickens are fed and does not rule out that they were possibly injected with or exposed to antibiotics or pesticides. “Pasture-raised” could include a myriad of situations and has not been explicitly defined by the USDA. Lastly, third-party certificate programs sometimes grant “humane” certifications, but the standards upheld by these certificate programs widely vary and cannot always be trusted.3
The next matter to be wary of is false advertising. For instance, the term “cage-free” is usually in reference to egg-laying hens and means that the flock is indoors but possibly has room to roam around the room. The term “antibiotic-free” is a slight twist on USDA-regulated terms such as “no antibiotics added” and “raised without antibiotics.” Unfortunately, “antibiotic-free” can include chickens that have been given antibiotics at certain parts of their lives but not leading up to the days before being tested. Lastly, “free-range” is often a confusing term. It ensures that the chickens have shelter and access to food, fresh water, and outdoors.4 However, the outdoor area is often quite small and the chickens are sometimes still fed conventional feed loaded with genetically modified corn and soy.5
While there are certainly terms to be aware of, there are also terms that actually promise good quality! The ideal labeling to look for is the “Never-Ever Program.” The Never-Ever Program will have a “USDA Process Verified” shield on the label and prohibits the use of growth hormones or antibiotics for the entirety of the chicken’s life.6 Another term to trust is “organic,” since the USDA highly regulates this label. To be certified organic, all chickens must be fed 100% organic feed, have access to the outdoors, and cannot have been fed antibiotics or hormones.7 “Natural” is another trustworthy term—the USDA mandates that “natural” poultry and egg products must be minimally processed and must not contain artificial ingredients.8
Impact on Eggs
There is a distinct difference between eggs laid by cage-free hens and eggs laid by legitimate free-range hens. Most of the eggs in supermarkets come from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) – sounds appetizing, right? These CAFOs pack hundreds of thousands of hens into small spaces. This lifestyle compromises the quality of the eggs as it does not allow the hens to get the proper amount of exercise, which leads to stressed behavior. Hens raised in CAFOs often also have skeletal problems from lack of movement.9
iiiOn the contrary, hens that have actually been allowed to live a free-range lifestyle lay far more nutritious eggs. When allowed to range freely in a pasture, hens can eat their natural diet of seeds, green plants, insects, and worms. This diet, free of genetically modified corn and soy, leads to healthier eggs. In 2007, Mother Earth News compared the nutritional value of CAFO eggs and free-range eggs. Free-range eggs had 1/3 less cholesterol, ¼ less saturated fat, 2/3 more vitamin A, two times more omega-3 fats, three times more vitamin E, and seven times more beta-carotene. One trick to tell if an egg is truly from a free-range hen is if the yolk is bright orange. If the egg is a dull, pale yellow, the egg is most likely from a caged hen.10
Chickens and eggs are a part of so many people’s diets – thus it is important that people start to learn how to navigate these confusing marketing ploys. Michael Pollen has said, “You can vote with your fork… and you can do it three times a day.”11 By carefully reading and understanding labels, we can make an educated vote.
