Good Question: What Are Cage-Free Eggs?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- On Wednesday, Target announced it would join several other companies, including Starbucks, McDonald's and General Mills, in making the move toward cage-free eggs. The company says it wants to sell only cage-free eggs by 2025.
In a statement, Target said, "Target is committed to the humane treatment of animals, and we believe they should be raised in clean, safe environments free from cruelty, abuse or neglect."
As consumers become more aware about where their food comes from, there has been significant momentum by food companies towards cage-free eggs.
So, what are cage-free eggs? Good Question.
"Cage-free can mean a lot of different things," Wayne Martin, poultry expert for the University of Minnesota Extension, said. "First, it means birds are not in what we call battery cages."
Right now, most egg production in the U.S. happens inside a battery cage, where one or more chickens lay their eggs. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, only 6.4 percent of the eggs Americans eat today are cage-free.
The Humane Society says, on average, each hen is given less space than a single sheet of letter-sized paper and is unable to spread their wings on a battery cage.
United Egg Producers acknowledge conventional cages don't allow the birds to perch or have freedom of movement, but say cage-free systems have increased risk of death by smothering, pecking and parasites.
The USDA defines "cage-free" as the flock being able to freely roam a building, room or enclosed area with unlimited access to food and fresh water during their production cycle.
"We need to careful with the labels because cage-free only means they're not in cages," Martin said.
The USDA also defines some eggs as "free-range," which means a flock is provided shelter in a building, room, or area with unlimited access to food, fresh water and continuous access to the outdoors during their production cycle.
Some producers have taken the living conditions of egg-laying chickens further with "pasture-raised" birds that live outside, but have access to inside.
The USDA has not found any difference in nutritional value of the eggs due to housing, but Martin says there can be a difference in nutritional value due to feed.
"If you add flax to the feed mix, it can improve the amount of Omega 3 in the eggs," Martin said.
Eggs that are certified organic by the USDA must also be cage-free. Those organic birds must also have access to the outdoors year-round, weather permitting.
