Know your Eggs

What does 'pasture-raised' mean and how is it different from 'cage-free' or 'free-range'? And are pasture-raised eggs worth it?
First off, terms like 'free-range' and 'cage-free' don't always mean what people think (and hope) they mean. In fact, because there is very little regulation for these words, they basically have no meaning whatsoever. Cage-free is simply that the chickens aren't raised in battery cages but that doesn't mean they aren't stuffed into huge houses with forty thousand other chickens, leading only a slightly less miserable life than if they were in cages. And free-range chickens do have access to the outdoors, but it does not mean that they are actually using it.
Right now, the term 'pasture-raised' isn't very regulated either. In general, it refers to a system where the chickens are grazed outdoors in movable shelters and are fed organic feed, free of hormones and antibiotics. Pastured chickens are allowed to be chickens: scratch in the dirt, eat bugs, take dust baths. It's a fairly new term and until someone comes along to exploit it, it's the one I trust the most.
Of course there are farmers who use all these terms in the spirit in which they are intended, which brings me to my point: find a good farmer you can trust and pay what you can for their products. The American Pastured Poultry Producers website will help you find a farmer in your area.
The question 'are pasture-raised eggs worth it?' is a tricky one. It depends of course on your ability to pay that much for them but even more, it depends on what you value. I buy from a local couple in my area, because I 1. can see the chickens from my car, 2 know what they are fed, 3. know that the eggs are just days old and have not been trucked 300 mile to get to the local supper market and because in the matrix of my life, they hit high marks in all the areas that matter most to me: taste, living lightly, stewardship, connection, beauty.
In a more perfect world, everyone would be eating pasture-raised eggs and not just those who are wealthy and can afford them. For more information on the confusion around cage-free, free-range and other terms, check out this article from Mother Earth News.
Food, Inc