Rolling green hills, chickens roaming and running about freely without the harsh conditions of a crowded chicken factory-like barn. This is what most people think of when they see the shining “free-range” label on their eggs. Oftentimes when buying the “ethical” “free-range” eggs, you feel as though you’re doing your moral and civic duty to society by not supporting the inhumane chicken raising practices.
However, in reality all this label means is that the birds aren’t kept in cages and they have access to the outdoors. There are no regulations on how big the space must be and it does not guarantee that the chickens go outside, just that they have access to it. There are also no regulations on how crowded the chickens living space is, so there is also no guarantee that they have space to move around even inside the facility.
These claims are run and controlled by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA must validate all “free range” eggs via visits to the farm twice a year. However, the regulation regarding the conditions is still not the rolling fields that most people imagine.
Documentaries such as “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!” explore the corruption and unethicality of the chicken industry. This was the documentary that first introduced me to the reality of what it meant for chickens to be “free-range”, “cage-free”, “farm-fresh” etc. If this topic is interesting to you I would recommend this documentary.
Sources:
Cage-Free vs. Free Range—and Other Egg Cart Labels—Explained – Consumer Reports
USDA Graded Cage-Free Eggs: All They’re Cracked Up To Be | USDA
Image from Google
Comments
I thought that free range eggs were better for the chickens as they get to roam around, but it seems that unless the companies are very open about their practices (like how large the “free range” is, we have to take their claims with a grain of salt.
Who doesn’t love Big Chicken? At least here in the US it takes very little work to pass off a product with a label that tells the common consumer “We have the more beneficial product.” It seems so subjective so say something is ethical on the market. Is a quick death ethical? Are using GMOs ethical? It feels wrong to see how the use of an ethical label can be so misleading to people.
Poor chickens, it makes me feel very bad for them. I have seen a facility like the one in your image and in places like these the hens get so fat they just can’t even walk anymore and their legs rot and they die on the ground right next to the other chickens around them. It really makes no sense to me that this is something so normal in today’s world. Although the other industrial alternative to these free range farms is even worse, the hens live their lives in a cage that is as big as a piece of paper. If I were to buy eggs, I would try to buy some from a smaller farm or a neighbor who I know raises their hens outside in the grass where they will be happy and can run around, because I would feel guilty eating the egg from the chicken who’s legs rotted off.