Free Range Chicken
Free Range Chicken, does it mean what we believe it does?
Let us start with the USDA definition. The link below will take you to the USDA website if your would like to see other definitions that do not represent what we believe them to.
FREE RANGE or FREE ROAMING:
Producers must demonstrate to the Agency that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside.
Below is a computer screenshot of the website and the highlighted definition.
So what does that definition really mean?
Access is NOT the same as being.
Michigan State University has done some remarkable research on this topic. Free range chicken, according to them, is actually a less healthy, confined to a smaller space and must be inhumanely treated. Specifically, their beaks are cut and their toes are cut. This is due to over-crowding and the injuries they will inflict upon each other due to the confined spaces.
Free Range means that they must have ACCESS to the outside, this does NOT mean they can go outside. The reason is, when Free Range first became popular the major egg layers in the factory agri-business model used open buildings with battery cages. They began to try free range but predators devastated the flocks. So they put sides on the buildings with large doors. This created a rapid build up of ammonia, dust and fecal matter. To remove these issues, the buildings were fitted with large fans. The net result is large closed buildings with large doors and powerful fans that create hurricane force winds coming through the doors. These meet the USDA definition. The chickens have access to the outside.
Did you know this chickens could also be considered organic chicken based upon their diet?