Cage-free egg systems have grown substantially following corporate commitments. Understanding what cage-free means in practice and where welfare gaps remain helps consumers make informed choices.
Cage-free represents a genuine welfare improvement over battery cages — hens can walk, perch, and engage in behavioral expression that cages completely deny. However, cage-free is not the welfare endpoint: keel bone fractures cause significant chronic pain, and large indoor flocks without adequate management experience high rates of injurious feather pecking. The welfare hierarchy from lowest to highest is: battery cage, enriched colony, cage-free indoor, free-range outdoor, pasture-raised. Consumer understanding of these distinctions is growing but remains incomplete.