How do you like your eggs?

Cage-free with a side of lutein? Or vegetarian-fed Grade A with an extra dash of omega-3?

Perusing the eggs at the local grocery store these days is a lot like scanning a menu. Egg cartons are labeled with numerous choices, but it can be difficult to know whether the ones stamped “natural” are similar to those marked “no hormones, no antibiotics.”

For some labels, producers must meet a list of requirements set by the federal government. Others have a generally understood meaning in the egg industry but perhaps no regulatory definition or third-party inspection of their claims.

Also, the intent behind egg carton labels spans from promoting animal welfare standards to touting nutritional benefits.

“It’s a hot topic,” said Justice Hoffman, whose family sells fresh eggs from its Powell Butte farm through the business Great American Egg. He said he gets questions from customers regularly, whether they’re placing direct orders or buying from the stand at Bend Farmers Market.

Yet your mind need not be scrambled. There are a few tips to understanding what egg cartons say about their content.

Learning about labels

One of the biggest categories of egg carton labels deals with the living conditions of laying hens. These catchphrases include “free range,” “cage-free” and “pastured.”

These are voluntary labels without defined meanings, as federal standards don’t mandate disclosure of how hens are housed, said Mitch Head, spokesman for the industry group United E`gg Producers.

Most shoppers buy the cheapest eggs at the store, Head said. These eggs come from hens raised in cages about the size of a dog crate containing five to six hens each.

But producers are apt to add labels when possible to their cartons to capture that other growing segment of the market interested in how the hens were raised. The price per dozen can be $1 to $3 higher than for standard eggs, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“They tend to label them voluntarily,” Head said of egg producers. “They’ll get a higher price for them typically.”

However, this might change within the next several years.

Democratic and Republican congressional representatives two weeks ago jointly introduced legislation that would improve living standards for laying hens and create four distinct egg carton labels describing those living conditions.

The bill is backed by two organizations that haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on these issues: the United Egg Producers and the Humane Society of the United States. Head and Josh Balk, spokesman for the Humane Society, said they expect such consensus will allow for broad support among legislators.

“Our efforts are focused on eliminating the worst practices in factory farming,” Balk said.

The labels would be “eggs from caged hens,” “eggs from hens in enriched cages,” “eggs from cage-free hens” and “eggs from free-range hens.” They would start appearing a year after the bill passes.

The first label, eggs from caged hens, would be phased out as farmers introduce new, enriched cages over 15 to 18 years. The enriched cages would be larger and contain perches as well as scratching and nesting areas.

“We’re progressive and proactive on this,” Head said. “We think that’s what consumers want.”

The bill wouldn’t address other carton labels, like those dealing with nutritional content or what hens are fed.

A few labels are more marketing than anything. For instance, the USDA doesn’t allow hormone use on laying hens. So a label boasting “no hormones” means little.

Perhaps the most defined is the USDA organic label, which sets standards for both living conditions and feed.

Finding local eggs

Not all eggs are labeled, however.

The only catchphrase Great American Egg uses to describe its product is “factory free.” Hoffman said to them that means the chickens lived out in fields, like on a traditional farm, without climate control or forced molting. That means there aren’t many fresh eggs as the day length shortens.

“Most people don’t know the chicken is as seasonal as a tomato,” Hoffman said.

In addition to Great American Egg, there are other small farms selling eggs in Central Oregon, like Pine Mountain Ranch and those listed on the website for Central Oregon Locavore, centraloregon locavore.com.

In the end, eggs are one of the most local farm products around, Head said. Forty-nine of the 50 U.S. states have a large egg producer.

“Almost all eggs are local and at the store the day after they were laid,” he said.

Egg essentials

What the labels on egg cartons mean:

Cage-free

This label conventionally means that laying hens aren’t kept in cages, although the term isn’t regulated by the USDA. The Humane Society of the United States says these birds are likely indoors, but can engage in natural behaviors like spreading their wings, walking and nesting.

Fertile

Most eggs consumed in the U.S. are from hens that have no contact with roosters, meaning there’s no possibility an egg eventually would hatch a chick. But fertile eggs mean the hens have at least been around roosters. The USDA says there is no nutritional difference or other difference in eating fertile eggs.

Natural

The USDA says this label means that nothing was added to the eggs after they were laid. It doesn’t tell shoppers anything about how the hens were raised or what they were fed.

No antibiotics

The U.S. Poultry and Egg Association says all eggs produced in the U.S. are free of antibiotics, in part because when hens are ill they typically stop laying eggs. But hens may be given antibiotics when ill. The USDA’s take on the label is it may be included on poultry products if the producer provides sufficient documentation. The label doesn’t require third-party certification.

Lutein-enriched

Some cartons now tout lutein-enriched eggs, meaning the laying hens were fed a diet supplemented with the carotenoid. Lutein is found naturally in leafy green plants like spinach and kale. According to the federal Agricultural Research Service, people who don’t get enough lutein in their diets are at greater risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in older Americans. Thus when studies within the last decade showed that humans better absorb lutein from eggs than from other sources, so grew the interest in lutein-enriched eggs.

Free range or free roaming

The USDA regulates this term for poultry but not for eggs. What it generally means for egg production, according to the Humane Society of the United States, is the hens live uncaged inside barns or warehouses. They have access to the outdoors but without any definition of quality. Since they aren’t caged, the hens can act like hens, nesting and foraging. The label doesn’t address what the birds can be fed.

No hormones

This label is about the marketing. The USDA prohibits the use of hormones for laying hens, so all commercial egg production in the United States is hormone-free, according to the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association.

Omega-3 enriched

Omega-3 fatty acids are healthy polyunsaturated fats found largely in seafood. Their health benefits, research has shown, range from improving heart health to reducing depression. But since omega-3s come from sources not consumed often enough by Americans, egg producers began feeding their hens a diet rich in ingredients like kelp, rapeseed or flax to introduce more omega-3s. Eggs from these hens are labeled on cartons as omega-3 enriched. The term has no federal definition, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2009 denied egg producers the right to label cartons with the claim that egg consumption could reduce risk of heart disease. Also, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy organization, notes that the amount of omega-3s found in enriched eggs is much less than found in a serving of salmon.

Organic

To earn the certified organic label, egg producers must meet standards defined by the USDA. The agency requires that all feed be 100 percent organic. The hens may not be given hormones or antibiotics. They must be cage-free and have access to the outdoors year-round, although the quality of that access isn’t specified. The USDA also has the power to monitor and enforce these standards.

Pastured hens

This term is unregulated by federal agencies, but a USDA research paper on poultry and eggs says it generally refers to a modified free-range system. Birds are raised outside on fields but are provided temporary shelters. The hens and shelters are then rotated regularly among pastures. The USDA estimates these hens can get up to 20 percent of their feed from forage.

Vegetarian-fed

This is another unregulated label. It generally means the feed given to the birds by humans doesn’t contain any animal byproducts. Of course, if these hens forage outside they might be consuming traditional chicken fare like worms and insects. But there’s nothing in the label that says these hens are doing just that.

Egg certifications

Various private organizations also have established their own standards and offer certification for egg production. Here are a few more labels shoppers might see on egg cartons:

• Certified humane. This is a program of Humane Animal Farm Care, a nonprofit that focuses on the treatment of farm animals. These eggs are uncaged, allowed to behave naturally and raised with density limits. Compliance is audited.

• Animal welfare approved. The Animal Welfare Institute, another nonprofit focused on livestock living conditions, created this label. Its program was dubbed the “highest animal welfare standards of any third-party auditing program” by the Humane Society.

• American Humane certified. This label was established by the American Humane Association, which in addition to farm animals, monitors the treatment of animals in film and television. It says on its website that it bases its supervision on scientific data. The Humane Society says the label allows for cage confinement and cage-free systems.

• Food Alliance certified. The Portland-based Food Alliance launched this label. The birds are cage free and access to the outdoors is required. Compliance is audited.

• United Egg Producers certified. The United Egg Producers is a national industry group associated with this label. It sets standards for caged hens, including feed and daylight. The Humane Society says the birds can’t behave naturally in these environments.

How did the chicken lay the Grade A egg?

Among the egg carton labels are those referring to egg size — small, medium, large and extra large — and quality. These labels are defined by the USDA.

Labels that seem to be about size actually reveal the net weight of the dozen eggs in the carton. So while extra large eggs logically are larger than small eggs, the label doesn’t say anything about each individual egg. Most recipes, according to the USDA, are based on large eggs.

The grades, which are AA, A and B, denote quality.

Grade AA eggs have thick, firm whites and high, round yolks. The shells are clean and unbroken. Grade A’s definition is similar. Grade B’s whites might be thinner and yolks might be flatter. The shells might show slight strains.

Most of the eggs found in stores are Grade AA and A, the USDA says. They are best for instances when egg appearance matters.