Free Range Eggs and Broiler Chickens
”I eat free range eggs. Isn’t that better for the animals, my health and the environment?”
That couldn’t be further from the truth and Eggland’s Best isn’t going to run a TV commercial showing you the horrid conditions of 99% of all factory farmed animals. YUM – this is where YOUR food comes from. Most people are still confused by package labels. Here are what the terms mean.
Conventional - No label on the carton. Hens are crammed into cages not giving them even enough room to spread their wings. Imagine a chicken on a piece of 81/2 x 11 piece of paper.
Cage Free- As it says, the hens are able to move about inside a barn without being confined to cages. It usually has very little light and the stench is unbearable. A better life, but not optimal as parts of beaks are often burned to prevent pecking at themselves and others (a sign of distress, by the way).
Free Range – Implies chickens on lush green pastures. Actually is not a regulated term for eggs so this can be used by absolutely anyone. Really all that’s needed is a door to the outside that gives the chickens “access” to an outdoor area, whether they actually use it or not. This is a meaningless term.
Organic – This means the hens were fed organic feed, whatever that feed consists of. It may also mean no animal by-products in the feed but I haven’t read any legislation on this.
Vegetarian – The hen is fed a vegetarian feed. I only mention this to point out that chickens are omnivores, not vegetarians, and will naturally eat bugs, grubs, etc. This term is used to imply “healthier” in our anti-meat culture
Here is a link to a short video about broiler chickens. We are what we eat and I think we should know where our food comes from and how it gets onto our plate.
http://www.chickenindustry.com/cfi/videogallery/
http://www.vegantraveler.com – da best. Keep it going!