From 2008 to 2018, U.S. retail table egg expenditures shifted toward eggs labeled with a variety of animal welfare and treatment claims. Common specialty table egg claims address the use of antibiotics or added hormones, hen housing (cage-free, pasture-raised, free-range), and comprehensive production standards (USDA organic and third-party humane certified).
Eggs purchased with these common claims saw increases in market share (by value) ranging from 4 to 32 percentage points across that time. The share for expenditures on eggs with pasture-raised and free-range claims climbed from zero in January 2008 to 5% and 20% shares, respectively, in December 2018.
By the end of 2018, one-fifth of retail table egg sales were for eggs with an organic claim, while about one-third of table egg expenditures were spent on eggs with a no-added-antibiotics claim or a no-added-hormones claim.
Across the 11-year period, average monthly market shares ranged from just under 1% for eggs with pasture-raised claims to nearly 20% for eggs with no-added-antibiotics claims. While specialty egg expenditures increased, the share spent on white-shelled eggs with no animal welfare, treatment, or production claims decreased from 41% in January 2008 to 27% in December 2018. — USDA Economic Research Service
