Conventional: Hens live in stacked “battery” cages, usually six chickens to a cage with up to 67 square inches of floor space per chicken.

Cage free: Hens live on the floor of a barn rather than in cages.

Free range: Hens either live outdoors or have some access to the outdoors.

Organic: Hens are fed a vegetarian diet that was grown without any herbicides, commercial fertilizers or fungicides.

Omega 3: Hens are fed a diet containing 10-20 percent ground flaxseed, which produces eggs with slightly higher amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids (also found in fish and fish oils).

Hormone free: No egg-laying hens in the USA are given hormones.

Antibiotic free: No hens in the USA are given antibiotics while laying eggs. A hen would only be given antibiotics if it were ill and had stopped laying eggs.

Brown: Brown eggs are produced by brown-feathered hens. There is no nutrient difference between brown and white hens fed identical diets.

Natural: Just a cosmetic term. No regulated meaning.

Source: United Egg Producers, U.S. Department of Agriculture