All The Chickens Will Roam Freely By 2025. Or So.

Not a day goes by without some major food-supply conglomerate or fast-food chain announcing the date, sometimes a few years in the distance, when all the chickens and/or eggs it sells to the public will be free range or antibiotic-free or organic or whatever. But today's announcement that the Kraft Heinz Company "will transition to using 100 percent cage-free eggs in all North American operations by 2025," according to a release, sets a new definition of planning ahead.

It's surely difficult to change a corporate culture and alter the supply chain for a large company, or so the recent spate of announcements would have us believe. Wendy's breakfast sandwiches won't be made with certified cage-free eggs until 2020, so it's only five years ahead of Kraft Heinz, the newly merged makers of ketchup, Velveeta and Lunchables. Subway's massive sandwich chain is also aiming at 2025 to go cage-free in North America, though it's worth noting that its stores in Australia (cage-free) and Europe (free range) are already ahead of the better-sourcing curve.

The announcement notes, "Kraft Heinz sources eggs in North America primarily for use within its Sauces portfolio including for brands like Miracle Whip, Heinz Mayo and Kraft Salad Dressings. The company defines cage-free eggs as those laid by hens allowed to walk, nest and engage in other behaviors in an open area." Which sounds reasonable enough, although the timing raises the question of whether the company is merely jumping on the good PR bandwagon of going cage-free, given that the subtext is that for the next nine years, eggs might be of dubious origin. We've all seen photos and videos of the cramped conditions in commercial coops. And despite all the press about cage-free eggs, it can still be baffling to buy a carton of eggs at the supermarket. So it's worth reposting our guide to the different egg designations for you, the reader, and maybe the Kraft Heinz employee who wants to get up to speed over the next nine years:

The cages are absent, but the chickens are still indoors, with about 1.2 square feet per bird. No outdoor access. Their only food is feed. The packages of Sunshine Farms, a purveyor in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut region, make vague reference to "eggs [that] are produced by hens in a carefully managed, cage-free setting with ample space to move freely and engage in natural behaviors."

Chickens are given access to 108 square feet of the grassy outdoors per bird. They spend most of their time outside and forage for insects, flowers and grass. The USDA has yet to recognize the term as an official method of farming chickens. According to Brooks, pasture-raised eggs may be higher in protein and vitamins because, as he puts it, "what you get out is what you put in." Betsy and Bryan Babcock of Handsome Brook Farm also point out that the yolks of pasture-raised eggs offer a more vibrant orange tint than the factory-made yellow yolks.

As far as price goes, pasture-raised eggs are vastly more expensive, reaching the $6-7 per dozen price range. Both the Babcocks and Brooks say that there are built-in costs that come with raising laying hens on the pasture — more land comes at a higher price. "It's also a great deal more labor-intensive as the farmer needs to be more hands-on with the flock management than he would be for any sort of confined system," Brooks says. "For those, the bulk of the work is handled by automated systems, whereas our farmers are out in the field every day checking their flocks."

All USDA-regulated chickens are not given hormones. In other words, all eggs and chickens in the U.S. are hormone-free.

Another third-party group that prohibits closed confinement of laying hens. AWA requires at least four square feet per bird of outdoor foraging space and 1.8 square feet of indoor space.

This standard is set by the USDA. In order for eggs to be organic, the chickens are required to be living free range "with minimum indoor and outdoor space, i.e., it may be a covered porch," Brooks says. The USDA's official site does not specifically outline what living conditions for organic chickens are.

The healthy fatty acid that is most often found in fish and nuts can also be sourced from eggs, depending on the chickens' diet. Organic Valley advertises that its omega-3 eggs are a source of the fatty acid because its chickens are fed a diet high in flaxseed, another source of omega-3. A 2010 study performed by Penn State University found that pasture-raised eggs were higher in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins A and E than non-pasture-raised eggs due to the variety in their diet, which consisted of grasses and insects that were foraged. These eggs were compared to those of chickens who were fed commercial hen mash.