What Do Labels Mean?

By Sam Orinstien

The food industry has been under pressure by people who are working on the behalf of human and nonhuman animals to improve conditions for animals used for food and to improve the quality of these foods. There have been some laws enacted that have led to different labels on food products such as eggs, dairy, and meat. The issue is that the majority of people don’t understand these labels but they pay the extra money for the ambiguous terms to feel better about their own consumption. 

One of the popular labels that will sky rocket the price of a carton of eggs is “Cage Free“ or “Free Range”. That may lead some consumers to believe that cage free means cruelty free.  It most certainly doesn’t. First, it’s worth mentioning that this doesn’t apply to male chickens because they get slaughtered much earlier due to their inability to lay eggs. Second, the conditions for a cage free hen aren’t what most people would imagine. They often live in flocks of thousands and most will never make it outside. They also still go through the same gruesome procedures as other chickens such as having their beaks cut off to prevent them from injuring each other in crowded living spaces. In addition to that, they are still slaughtered prior to living less than half of their expected life span of about five years. On the positive side, they are generally able to walk around, spread their wings, and lay eggs in nests. So in general, many of their lives are a little better but not to the extent that consumers would imagine.

Free Range

Many people might suspect that cage free does mean nothing more than the chicken being able to walk around, but the label “free range” seems to carry a lot more baggage. When I think free range, I think of hens walking around a large green pasture; hens that are raised outdoors. The truth is that the producers of free range eggs are guaranteed to be housed in a building with access to outdoors during their laying cycle. This doesn’t mean that the majority of the hens will ever make it outside. Many of them are prevented access to the outdoors due to overcrowding. Even if they are next to the exit or can make it there, most of these nonhuman animals are suffering from psychological trauma and are afraid of the light out there or afraid of what might happen if they leave the structure with food and water.

Pasture Raised

Another label you might see on either egg or meat labels is “pasture raised”. There are guidelines for many of the labels you see on grocery items, but this one has no guidelines. There is no kind of certification for “pasture raised” so it doesn’t mean anything if you see it written on an item. It can mean whatever the packager or producer wants it to mean.

Some people might think these egg labels have something to do with health benefits. Many consumers might be surprised to find out that labels such as cage free and free range only have to do with the environment that the eggs were laid in and there is no evidence of any suspected health benefits. The USDA hasn’t done any testing to see if the eggs are better for you so they can just leave the label up for interpretation. A lot of these labels are used only to make consumers feel better about the choices they make, while many of them mean little to nothing for the animals welfare or consumer’s health benefits. 

One term that applies to meat and dairy is the term “grass fed”. Grass fed has had a working definition over the years and it has evolved a considerable amount. Fifteen years ago, it was proposed to the United States Department of Agriculture that a cow’s diet had to be at least 80% grass. The obvious issue is that the nonhuman animal is obviously not completely grass fed and with that definition, the caretaker of the cow could feed it whatever they want for 70 days out of the year, as long as it is fed grass the remainder of the time. In 2006, the regulation changed so that in order to have the USDA label that says “grass fed”, the cow’s diet must be made up of at least 99% grass. The quality of the grass feed currently is not regulated. It has been shown that eating animals that were grass fed can contribute to lower levels of fat in the animal meat, but consumers should know that it doesn’t mean much for animal welfare as far as living conditions go. Grass fed does not mean raised outdoors. Consumers should also note that people can put the label on anything so they need to look to see if the label is verified by the AGA (American Grass fed Association).

​These are just a small list of prevalent terms that shoppers will commonly encounter with brief definitions that are used by food producers to help people think more positively about the food choices they make. Consumers should understand that most of these labels are about making more money off of the same products. In order to make better choices consumers should read labels, look for certification by a well-known agency, (such as USDA, AGA, and Center for Food Safety) and then research exactly what these labels mean. The better you educate yourselves, the better you will feel about making actually informed choices.

​“To all the free-range humans and organic life forms everywhere:
Hold your forks up with solidarity!
Remember you vote with your wallet,
Your dollar bill’s your ballot.
Alone it’s just a whisper, but together you can’t stop it!” ~ Mark Murphy, Wookiefoot

References
Humane Society. 2017. “Cage-Free Vs. Battery-Cage Eggs”. Retrieved March 1st, 2017. (http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/cage-free_vs_battery-cage.html)
One Green Planet. 2017. “Think you Cage-Free and Free-Range Chicken? Think Again”. Retrieved March 1st 2017. (http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/think-you-know-free-range-and-cage-free-chicken-think-again/).
United States Department of Agriculture. 2017. “Meat and Poultry Labeling Terms”. Retrieved March 1st, 2017. (https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/food-labeling/meat-and-poultry-labeling-terms/!ut/p/a1/jVJtb4IwEP4t-wDfoEWc0SVkIWxmuokxZhvyZSlwvBigrC0S9-tHWTRq1Nmmues9z13b54p85CG_JJssISKjJcnl3h984QU).
United States Department of Agriculture. 2017. “Food Fact Sheets”. Retrieved March 1st, 2017. (https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/food-labeling).
Agricultural Marketing Service. 2017. “Questions and Answers about Shell Eggs”. Retrieved March 1st, 2017.  (https://www.ams.usda.gov/publications/qa-shell-eggs).
Center for Food Safety. 2015. “Explaining the Labels: Misleading Labels”.  Retrieved March 1st, 2017. (http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/healthy-home/3274/cfs-healthy-home/tips-for-a-healthy-home/3750/explaining-the-labels-misleading-labels#).
Clapp, Stephen. 2006. “USDA Proposal for Grass Fed Beef Label Draws Praise”. Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News.

AUTHOR BIO

Sam Orinstien is a junior at Minnesota State University Mankato. He studies sociology and has research interests in social stratification and inequalities among human and nonhuman animals. ​