Health Hotline Magazine | September 2023

OU Egg Standards Cage free & free range probably don’t mean what you think they mean... except at Natural Grocers ® Our Minimum Standards Include: • Continuous access to the outdoors means hens must go outside, during both the aying cycle and when hens are not aying. • Unfortunately, the abels on eggs you see in most grocery stores do not necessarily mean what you think they mean. Per the USDA definition, cage free only means the hens are not in cages during the aying cycle. The hens do not go outside and can even be caged when not producing eggs. Additionally, the cage-free abel doesn’t cover ecologically thoughtful practices or humane standards of care, such as air quality, natural lighting, an environment that promotes natural behaviors and protects the hens, and space requirements per hen in the barn.

Outside must be a range -- grass and trees with room to peck and hunt for bugs. The outside space must have room for all hens to be outside at the same time. Sufficient space inside and out to support natural behaviors and provide for the health of the hens.

Additionally, under USDA guidelines, eggs can be abeled as free range even if there is just a hen-sized f ap somewhere in their indoor area and the outside area consists of a screened-in enclosure with a concrete floor. You probably wouldn’t expect it, but hens that are not aying eggs can still be caged. Additionally, the free-range abel also does not cover ecologically thoughtful practices or humane standards of care. Because of the limited requirements for these abels, we were driven to establish our own standards for free-range eggs in 2016.

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Most retailers are currently struggling to meet a cage-free standard, let alone meet our standard of free range.

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Natural Grocers Pasture-Raised Eggs

Organic Egg Scorecard The Cornucopia Institute Organic Egg Scorecard results are in, and Natural Grocers ® Brand Organic Eggs ran high—a 4-Egg ating, out of a possible 5 Eggs. Although our eggceptional score doesn’t surprise us, we want you to have the third-party proof. Happy ba ing and omelet ma ing—from the family brand committed to your health, animal welfare, and the p anet’s wellbeing! Indoor Outdoor Spacing, Quality Timing of Outdoor Access, Environmental Impacts, Feed Sourcing, Animal Welfare, and Transparency ** Scorecard Criteria Includes

365 by Whole Foods Market

Trader Joe’s

Sprouts Organic

Simply Roundy’s (Kroger)

Simple Truth (Kroger)

Kirkland Signature (Costco)

*Only a partial list of retailers. Visit www.cornucopia.org/scorecard/eggs/ for full scorecard. **Cornucopia evaluates numerous scorecard criteria to determine its ratings. For a detailed breakdown, see www.cornucopia.org/cracked-egg-scorecard/.

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