Definition: "Free-range" is a bit of a nutty term, at least in its technical meaning as regulated by the USDA which calls for the laying hens to be "allowed access to the outside."
As you might imagine, that phrase can be interpreted generously or quite narrowly. Some farmers let their free-range chickens roam on real fields and pastures. Larger producers, however, have been known to follow only the letter of the law, not its spirit, and put an open window or small door that leads to a paved patch of ground at one end of a large, crowded hen house.
If nothing else, though, free-range eggs at least come from hens that were raised cage-free.
Also Known As: free-roaming
