When you next go shopping for meat, make sure that you know your labels, as its easy to be misled, especially if you care about animal welfare. “Raised without added Hormones” in PORK or POULTRY. This is a bit of a silly one because Federal law prohibits the use of hormones for hogs and poultry anyway, so the use of hormone-free labels on pork and poultry products intentionally misleads consumers by claiming that the product is different and therefore worthy of a higher price.
According to USDA, “Natural” meat and poultry products cannot contain artificial colors, artificial flavors, preservatives or other artificial ingredients, and they should be minimally processed. However, “Natural” does not tell us how the animals were raised, what they were fed, if antibiotics or hormones were used, or other aspects of production that consumers might logically expect from something labeled “natural.”
Another label that is also misleading is “Naturally Raised.” The USDA proposal for naturally raised requires three things: that the animal be given no growth promoters, no antibiotics, and no food containing animal by,products. Missing from the requirements is any mention of animal welfare — whether animals are confined in factory farms, whether gestation crates or other cruel practices are used, and whether any environmental or conservation issues are addressed on the farm.
The label “Fresh” is used on poultry to indicate that the meat was not cooled below 26 degrees Fahrenheit (six degrees below freezing). Poultry does not have to be labeled as “frozen” until it reaches zero degrees. USDA meat inspectors monitor the use of this label to ensure the standards are met. But this can be misleading to customers who presume that “fresh” implies that meat has not been frozen, processed or preserved in any way. The USDA does not define or regulate the use of this label on any other type of meat or dairy products.
“Free Range” is a label regulated by USDA only for poultry produced for meat (not eggs). Don’t think that the animal is question has been roaming around a pretty pasture. The label can be used if the animal had some access to the outdoors each day for some unspecified period of time (it could be just a few minutes). Acess can also mean that a tiny door is left ajar. It does not assure that the animal ever actually went outdoors to roam freely. “Free range” is not regulated for pigs, cattle or egg-producing chickens.
so then what are “free range” eggs? I eat a lot of free range eggs. Even “free range” egg whites. Please don’t tell me that the chickens are subjected to the horrors or normal egg laying chickens. I saw a video a few years ago that shows how normal egg laying chickens are treated and I have not eaten a non free-range egg since.
Read Michael Pollan’s Ominvore’s Dilemma. It answers many of these questions. And he says that about the free-range eggs, they just have access to the outdoors, the chickens may never go outside.
So what type of eggs are best to purchase then since free-range obviously doesnt mean the chickens are outside roaming freely. Please advise.
To try to purchase eggs which are really produced by chickens raised kindly, you should google “pastured chicken eggs ” and read about local farms in your area. Sometimes at Whole Foods they’ll carry local eggs and have a small write-up about them indicating how the chickens are treated. Otherwise, it’s hard to be sure what you are getting. The other safe option is to go vegan and try egg substitutes.
Yes “free range” eggs from the store are not what you think. I also second the previous posters encouragement to read ‘the omnivores dilemma’.
If you want true free range eggs, visit eatfresh.org or craigslist in the farm/garden section. A lot of folks sell their eggs on there!
Also consider getting a couple of laying hens for you backyard! We had chickens even when we lived in the city and our neighbors loved it! 🙂
If you care about the chickens welfare, then just don’t eat eggs. It’s as easy as that. There is no “humane” when it comes to animals used for food. A whole-foods, plant-based diet is optimal for the human body. Be more compassionate. Don’t eat products from animals.