Day 22: Free Range or Range Free?
When I think of free range chickens I conjure up the thought of animals frolicking about the way nature intended. Scurrying after grasshoppers on a wind swept hillside, drawing a deep draught from a gurgling brook, or simply lazing away the day under the cool shade of a willow. Regretfully, most of this is delusion on my part. There are no legal or commercial definitions governing the term or the claim “range” or similar advertisements on egg cartons, such as “free running,” “free roaming,” or “free walking.” Birds raised for meat may be considered “free-range” if they have U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified access to the outdoors. The irony here is that the USDA relies upon producer testimonials to support the accuracy of these claims.
No other criteria of environmental quality, the size of the outdoor area, the number of birds confined in a single shed, or the indoor or outdoor space allotted per animal-are considered in applying the label. As with free-range laying hens, many “free-range” broilers live in a facility with only one small opening at the end of a large shed, permitting only a few birds to go outside at any given time. The term “free-range” “doesn’t really tell you anything about the animal’s quality of life, nor does it even assure that the animal actually goes outdoors. The final insult to free range hens is that they too have their beaks clipped to reduce the risk of injury related to being pecked by their neighbor.
Tomorrow: Do we need any animal products, including dairy, to sustain and nourish us?
January 31st, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Hey Dave
Congratulations on your new diet lifestyle. We support you 100%. Now for you to laugh a little and share with yor children or grandchildren, See the story behind the first hamburger below.
See you.
The First Hamburger
Marc Gellman
Newsweek April 20, 2006
Once animals talked just like people. Once every living creature ate only grass and nuts and a few berries when they could find them. No living thing ever thought about killing another living thing to eat it, until the day Noah wanted a hamburger.
One night Noah dreamed of a hamburger, and when he woke up, he wanted one really badly. But Noah wasn’t exactly sure how to get a hamburger, so he asked his friend the cow, “I dreamed about a hamburger last night. Do you know where I can get one?”
The cow gave Noah a puzzled look and asked, “What’s a hamburger?”
“I don’t know exactly, Noah replied. “All I know is that in my dream the hamburger was something delicious between two buns with lettuce, onions, pickles and some special sauce.”
“Have some more grass and forget about it,” said the cow.
Noah asked the snake, who was the smartest of all the animals, “What’s a hamburger and how can I get one?”
The snake whispered in Noah’s ear, “To get one you have to make one.”
“I don’t know how to make one.” Noah sputtered.
The snake laughed, pointed at the cow who was peacefully munching some grass, and said to Noah, “To make a hamburger, you have to kill that cow, chop up her meat, and fry it in a pan–or flame broil it!”
Noah’s mouth opened wide, “But…but…the cow is my friend! She is a living thing just like me! I can’t kill her, chop up her meat and fry it in a pan! And what is flame broiling anyway?”
By now the snake was rolling around on the ground laughing, “Kid, if you want a hamburger, that’s what you gotta do.”
Well…Noah really wanted a hamburger and so that’s what he really did! The first hamburger tasted delicious. But when Noah came again to the fields everything was different. When he walked towards the birds, they flew away. When Noah went over to say hello to the cows and the sheep and the buffalo, they ran away from him. Even the fish swam away when they heard Noah coming.
Noah could not understand what had happened to his friends the animals, and he could not find one single animal that would explain it to him. In fact, since the day Noah ate the first hamburger, no animal has ever talked to a person. They are still too angry.
January 29th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
I have checked the net and there is a Farmers’ Market not far from here that operates on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month – shall check it out.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:07 am
I had the same “delusional” picture about free-range animals. How very eye-opening!
January 29th, 2008 at 5:56 am
Dianne,
There are many farms throughout the world where animals, fruits and vegetables are raised or grown in a semi-natural and sustainable condition. These farmers sell their products largely to a local market. An example of this in southern California is the orange co-op. I encourage you to search out and support these farmers, and enjoy the taste and textures of naturally grown foods (including eggs).
Dave
January 29th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Ok, so free-range isn’t any better! It’s all a bit depressing. Not that I eat many eggs or would find it hard to do without but it is all very sad.