Chickens raised for their eggs, or “layer” hens, have conventionally been housed in caged facilities in the United States. These facilities pack chickens close together in small cages and caged hens face a variety of welfare problems. In recent years, there has been a push by advocates to force lawmakers, states, and private companies to shift towards “cage-free” farms, in which hens have more space and freedom to express themselves. However, these improvements in welfare come at a price to consumers. 

This study surveyed U.S. consumers on how they think differently about caged and cage-free systems, the chickens that live in them, and the eggs that those chickens produce. The survey revealed possible areas of misunderstanding, and ways in which stated preference may not actually mirror how consumers shop in practice. 

The study used results from a 15-minute online survey completed by 961 U.S. adults in 2022. To be eligible, respondents had to do at least half of their household’s grocery shopping, and must have bought eggs in the last three months. It’s important to note that respondents were older and more educated than the average U.S. citizen, though these kinds of differences are common for online surveys. The survey asked consumers randomly-ordered questions on three main areas: their opinions on egg production systems, their shopping preferences, and their knowledge of supermarket cage-free pledges. 

In the first area, customers generally saw the term “caged eggs” more negatively, associating it with words like “cruel,” “sad,” and “inhumane.” The term “conventional eggs” was not seen as negatively, despite the fact that caged egg farming is the conventional method. Generally, consumers saw caged eggs as more affordable; however, caged-free chickens were seen as being happier, their eggs as being tastier and healthier, and caged-free systems as having less environmental impact. These results for environmental impact may suggest people conflate “animal friendly” and “environmentally friendly” – but in fact the improved living standards in cage free systems actually place greater demand on the environment. A similar bias may also suggest why people think cage-free eggs are healthier, when their nutrient content is actually very similar to caged eggs. 

In another question, respondents were asked to rank which out of 13 factors they considered to be most and least important when buying eggs. Price, taste and safety were seen as most important, with 60% of people ranking price in the top three factors to consider. Environmental impact ranked in the bottom three factors, five spots below animal welfare — but again, this may be due to a conflation of these two factors by consumers. 

A third set of questions focused on pledges made by retailers to phase out caged eggs. Many large retailers, including Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Meijer, have made pledges to phase out the sale of caged eggs. Despite three quarters of respondents shopping at these larger supermarkets, less than 20% said that their retailer had made such a pledge, with more than half of consumers being unsure on their retailer’s position. Despite this, 79% of respondents said they would support their retailer making a cage-free pledge. 

This high level of support for cage-free pledges is encouraging, but it should be taken with a pinch of salt: 83% of consumers also agreed that removing the caged option from store shelves would increase egg prices. Considering that these same consumers considered price to be the most important factor when buying eggs, it may be that welfare concerns ultimately come second when customers are actually asked to spend more money.

Overall, this study provides useful figures and highlights common misconceptions. People can conflate issues of farmed animal welfare and environmental impact, even when the two are not linked, or are even opposed. Also, the stated support for cage-free pledges suggests a broad awareness of the value of protecting farmed animals — but it’s important to understand how consumers behave differently in practice, when higher-welfare options prove to be more expensive. Before making pledges that drive away consumers, challenging misperceptions around egg farming should be a priority.