Which Came First: Free Range Chicken or Free Range Egg?
Posted: Saturday, July 18, 2009
by Jon Searles
I am not a card carrying member of PETA nor am I a vegetarian. Steak, pork, lamb, chicken, fish and all other creatures considered food have passed my lips on the way to digestion. This will hopefully establish my credibility as a carnivore, and I have no plans on changing. Unfortunately my doctor has recommended I eat more fish and lean meats. I hope to continue to eat meat, but my goal is to eat meat that is produced in accordance with farming practices that use humane and reasonable treatment of the animals that are being groomed for our dinner plates.
Large industrial chicken environments require chickens to be packed into very small spaces among many thousands of chickens, pumped up with a variety of drugs and antibiotics to prevent infections, fed anything but what they would naturally enjoy eating, and many times have beaks cropped to prevent damaging other birds around them. Male chickens are many times discarded and killed since they do not produce the proper meat or temperament for the industry. They never see the light of day, the green of grass, or the fear in the eyes of a small insect as they merrily chase it for food. Many believe and have proven that a properly cared for free range chicken and those chicken's raised in the same manner for their eggs, produce a more healthful product for the consumer than the "stack em deep sell em cheap" chicken megafarms.
The established rules of "free range" are unfortunately very loosely used and can imply that the animals have been raised in a way that is more humane that actually was put in practice on the farm. If the government allows farmers to use the term "free range" only if the chicken's have access to, but never set foot, on an outside patch of grass, then "free range" will never be a reliable form of understanding for the consumer. I personally have no problem paying more for a chicken that is raised in accordance with the true understanding and practice of "free range" if we can somehow certify the truth in advertising. You can pretty much bank on the fact that a 77 cents per dozen eggs and 99 cents per pound chicken did not come from a true "free range" scenario. Capitalistic food production after all requires that a healthy and sustainable profit is made using whatever loopholes exist for the use of terms in the food industry.
I have a neighbor that is part of the backyard chickens movement of urban chicken raisers. There is actually a website www.backyardchickens.com that can teach you how to raise your own chickens. These chickens are true free range chickens that have the run of the neighborhood. These ladies tend to stay within 100 feet of their coop which is behind the neighbor's house and have been known to cross the road on several occasions, for purpose only known to them.
Also, the one style of chicken raising that I found most intriguing and more importantly exemplifies the term "free range" is conducted and well documented at Polyface Farms ( www.polyfacefarms.com ). Portable chicken coops are used as a way to move the chickens around the farms in an amazing and well planned cycle of farm use that allows the chickens a life full of normal "chickeness". No drugs, no trimmed beaks, and room to grow properly on a diet destined for a great tasting eggs or chicken taco. This will not produce a chicken that is cheep (cheap), but will produce one that gives a consumer peace of mind and will more likely be a more healthful meal.
Some will never get past that fact that animals are killed for food. I do think that animals can be raised humanely, ethically, and healthfully allowing for better food sources for this country. If food costs more, maybe we would eat less and use more healthful decisions. The term ethical consumerism, which will be discussed in further articles, is a great first step.
When it comes to the Capitalistic Omnivore, there is so much to say and discuss. I would love to know if any of you are backyard chicken people. I am considering installing my own coop. Maybe the feathered guest will help with my lawn pest control
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Jon, if I had land where chickens were allowed to roam or even be penned in, I'd have them. My paternal Gramma had her chickens, which she prized. On visite, I often stopped by the chicken coop area, and sometimes threw some feed over the fence. I was then too much a town gal to go into the yard with them. I enjoyed this refreshing article and the links you gave.Please log in to respond to this comment.
I like this article, yet remember free-range means the animal will still, in the end, end up on the dinner plate. Sure, it might be a better 'life', yet the result is exactly the same.Well done.Please log in to respond to this comment.Michael,The trip to the dinner plate could always be a little more humane despite its end. I guess it is much like any life. Thank you for reading.Please log in to respond to this comment.You're right, of course.Please log in to respond to this comment.
Hi Jon.I thoroughly enjoyed your article. It is written with wit and style and humor and still manages to address an important issue. Well done.I don't think I could ever be a vegetarian (most of the plants that provide significant protein are all but impossible for me to digest comfortably), but now and then when Bernd and I take a hike and we come across some cattle (free range!) and I look at their sweet faces, I wonder how I can even consider eating them.I have no doubt that meat animals raised for the table would be better for us to eat if they were all raised in a more natural way. But as Michael pointed out, they are still destined for death. I do really sometimes wish there were some way around it. Maybe we should just all rely on eggs (and cow's milk for those who aren't allergic to it). I believe that whole issue over eggs and cholesterol is exaggerated. I think the problem comes from eating unnecessarily large amounts of meat. Well, I certainly managed to get in a couple rants at your expense. :)Anyways, thanks for writing this!DiannePlease log in to respond to this comment.Dianne,Food scientists are now telling us that the free range more natural lifestyle produces an animal that is better nutritionally for all of us. That, along with a more humane lifestyle for the animal, could make us better and more healthy caretakers of this planet. Thank you for reading!Please log in to respond to this comment.
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