The Complete Guide to Egg Carton Labels

by Small Footprint Family

(and What They Really Mean)

Finding eggs that are safe, nutritious and humanely raised can be a challenge, and the labels on egg cartons certainly don’t help. Sometimes they can even be deceptive…

Even certified organic eggs can come from hens living in inhumane, factory conditions!

EGG CARTON LABELS

Industrial-scale egg producers are gaming the system, producing "cage-free," "free-range," and “organic” eggs in huge factory farms, crowding tens of thousands of chickens in two-story buildings with small porches passing as “outdoor access."

Imagine 80,000 hens in a single building, crowded in confinement conditions, on “farms” warehousing hundreds of thousands or a million birds. Is that organic?

What Kind of Eggs Should I Buy?

Grades AA, A and B Eggs

Pasteurized Eggs

Battery Cage Eggs

“Cage-Free” or “Free Range"

"Vegetarian Fed" Eggs

Learn more about each type of egg!

Pasture-Raised Eggs