Misleading Labels, Part 1: Breasts and Eggs... Chicken's Breasts and Eggs

If you have ever tried to make a healthier choice when buying eggs or poultry you may have noticed that it can get a little confusing as to which product is actually the healthiest for you and your family. 

Cage Free, Organic, Natural, Free-Range, No Hormones or Antibiotics Used, Pasture Raised, or my personal favorite,"Hormone and Antibiotic ridden Sick and Diseased, Raised in the excrement of 10,000 chickens."  Oooohweeee, the eggs and poultry from these mistreated chickens are extra delicious and nutritious!  And by "delicious and nutritious", I mean "not nutritious and delicious."

Since the average dozen eggs will run ya about a buck and a half... and the "better" choices are 3-5 bucks, I figured it would be good to know if these other choices were really worth your hard earned money.  Likewise, "Free Range" chicken breasts are usually double the cost of standard industry chicken breasts.

Doesn't the word "Healthy" come to mind when you see this picture!?

Battery Cages (these are the eggs that will usually cost you around $1.50)

It is estimated that 60% of the world's eggs are produced using battery cages, and over 90% of the eggs in the United States are produced this way.  Battery cages are wire cages that allow each hen roughly the standing space of a single sheet of computer paper, 8 inches X 11 inches.  Keep in mind that their wing span is about 32 inches.  About 10 hens will occupy 1 cage with a space equivalent of a file cabinet drawer.  The floor of these cages is sloped, preventing the hens from ever sitting.  Very often their feet actually grow around the wires and they become immobile.  These hens become agitated and aggressive in this type of environment, so to prevent them from harming each other they are debeaked and their toes are often cut off as chicks before they arrive at the facility.  It is pretty standard in the egg industry to simulate Spring by leaving the lights on for long hours each day.  After a year of this, the egg production drops.  To revive it, the hens are starved for up to 3 weeks which forces them into another egg laying cycle.  This practice, called "forced molting" has been banned in Great Britian since 1987.  They are fed hormones and antibiotics since the incredibly unsanitary conditions leave them extremely prone to bacterial infections.  Arsenical compounds are used to speed growth, raise feed efficiencey, and boost egg production.  Some egg producers use power sprayers that shoot insecticides up through the cage floors onto the birds.  A carton of eggs will never bear the label "battery cage raised."  But if it has no other labels that specify another specific way of being raised then you can bet your money that this is the environment your eggs have come from.  

Cage Free (Free Roaming)
Hens laying eggs labeled as "cage free" are uncaged inside barns or warehouses, but they generally do not have access to the outdoors. They can engage in many of their natural behaviors such as walking, nesting and spreading their wings but really don't have much more room than hens raised in battery cages.  Conditions are usually just as unsanitary as well.  Beak cutting, Antibiotics, Hormones, low grade feed, and insecticides are all fair game when using the label "Cage Free."   There is no third-party auditing.

  

Free Range

This poultry label should mean that the birds were allowed “continuous, free access to the outside for over 51% of their lives.” However, some free-range birds may be housed in open-air barns with limited exits to the outside that are left open for only a short period each day.  Very often, these barns are so overcrowded that most hens never make it to the outdoor access throughout their entire life.  Also, this label does not require the "outdoor space" be defined.  "Outdoor space" may be a 10 X 10 cement slab.  Like the label "Cage Free," there are no restrictions to what they are fed and the use of Antibiotics, hormones, and insecticides. Beak cutting and forced molting through starvation are permitted.  There is no third-party auditing.

Pasture Raised

The “Pastured Raised” label indicates that the meat or eggs came from birds who were provided genuine access to both the outdoors and natural vegetation.  But like "Cage Free" and "Free Range," there is no third-party auditing.  So the problem is that the term is not regulated or certified and there is no way to ensure if any claim is accurate.

No Antibiotics
This term may be used on labels if sufficient documentation is provided by the producer to the Agency demonstrating that the animals were raised without antibiotics.  Antibiotics are given to animals to prevent or manage diseases.  Although the USDA is accountable for proper use of these claims, there is no verification system in place.

Natural

 The USDA defines this as a product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed (a process which does not fundamentally alter the raw product) may be labeled natural. The label must explain the use of the term natural (such as – no added colorings or artificial ingredients; minimally processed). As defined by the USDA, the term applies only to how meat from the animal is processed after it has been slaughtered. It is important to note that this commonly used term does not refer in any way to how an animal was raised, so the farming system may have involved feedlot and confinement systems or the routine use of antibiotic growth promoters, for example. No third party verification.  This term is used way too often for the most UN-NATURAL products out there.  As a rule of thumb, just never pay extra for something claiming it is "natural."  You will be throwing away your money and most likely your health will be worse off for it.

Certified Organic

The birds are uncaged inside barns or warehouses, and are required to have outdoor access, but the amount, duration, and quality of outdoor access is undefined. They are fed an organic, all-vegetarian diet free of antibiotics and pesticides, as required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program.  Beak cutting and forced molting through starvation are permitted. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing. 

Conclusion:

USDA Organic Eggs and Poultry are definitely the best choice out of all of these options... but they're not perfect.  Try your best to find local eggs.  If local eggs are no where to be found, then go with USDA Organic.  It is worth the extra money.  I would not waste my money on any of the other labels alone though.  True Organic pasture raised hen's eggs are much more nutritious:

  1/3 less cholesterol

  1/4 less saturated fat

  2/3 more Vitamin A

  2 times more omega-3 fatty acids

  3 times more Vitamin E

  7 times more beta carotene

Interesting fact 1:  The color of the egg is simply dependent on the breed of chicken.  It does not make a difference nutritionally.  Brown eggs are just from a different hen then white eggs.

Interesting Fact 2:  Remember my last post... the video of male chicks being ground up alive?  Well, hundreds of millions of male chicks are killed each year and they are used as fertilizers.... and are added into the feed of animals such as cows and pigs.  I don't know if you agree, but I totally think that feeding herbivores ground up dead animals must be super healthy for their systems.

Sources:

thhttp://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2007-04-01/How-to-Decode-Egg-Cartons.aspx#axzz2OJ8U8F1ae wo

http://www.stopsmithfieldfoods.com/

http://www.lexiconofsustainability.com/pop-up-art-shows/pastured/

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/guide_egg_labels.html

http://www.nongmoproject.org/

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an232

(Robert H. Brown , "Toe-Clipping May Help Hens, Improve Returns in Crowded Cages" Feedstuff, May 27, 1985, cited in Animal Factories, p. 161).

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2002334,00.html