So you're at the grocery store, standing in front of the chicken display. Feeding your family high quality, nutrient dense food, free from chemicals, antibiotics, hormones, GMO's, etc. is all important to you. But there are so many choices! Organic, Free Range, All Natural, Vegetarian-Fed, Hormone and Antibiotic Free, Pasture-Raised, even Amish Raised are words you'll see on labels.
I've been there, it's overwhelming, which is why I wanted to talk through some of the claims and what they mean, or don't mean.
Hormone and Antibiotic Free - It's illegal to feed hormones to any type of poultry, in any production system in the United States. Some integrators will still use antibiotics in their birds, others are moving away from the practice. Either way, if proper withdrawal periods are met there should be no antibiotic residue in the meat.
Are there other big issues with feeding animals antibiotics and are there probably instances where withdrawal periods aren't met? Yes to both. There was a Whole Foods turkey scandal a few years ago when USDA inspectors found traces of an illegal growth hormone and antibiotics among other substances in turkey labeled as being raised without either, so I can't say it doesn’t happen.
All Natural - just like I talked about in my blog post about beef production, this means nothing. Chickens are fed a typical conventional feed, raised in the typical confinement barns, they probably weren't fed antibiotics or hormones (which again, is illegal to feed any poultry produced in the United States anyway), but otherwise are no different than the other products on the shelf without the all natural sticker.
Free Range - this is a super confusing one. So back in the day when the term free range first started to be used it meant literally, the chickens were free to roam about the farm eating bugs and worms and doing chicken stuff. Then the chicken industry latched onto this and USDA ruled that the "free-range" label can be used when chickens are raised in conventional broiler barns, on conventional feed, but given "access to the outdoors" at some point in their lives.
This typically takes the form of a little fenced, concrete lot with a little door that is opened when the chickens are 5-6 weeks old. Broiler chickens are processed around that age, and after spending that much time indoors they likely don't venture outside at all. And there's nothing to do out there anyway.
Free-Range doesn't mean anything unless you visit the farm and can see that the chickens are actually roaming about in pasture!
Organic - these chickens are raised in the same confinement barns as “free-range” birds with minimal outdoor access (not raised on pasture). The only difference is they are fed a certified organic feed.
A note - the organic corn used to create these feeds is often imported in from around the world. Along with a strong possibility it wasn’t actually raised organically, the environmental impact of moving grain across the world just to be able to put an organic label on the end product is incredibly wasteful.
These birds will not be nutritionally superior to a conventionally raised chicken, and in my opinion, are an even less environmentally friendly option than conventionally raised birds that are fed grains produced near where they are raised.
Vegetarian Fed - chickens are not herbivores, they are omnivores which means they prefer to eat both plants and animal proteins to meet their dietary needs. If your label says the chickens were vegetarian fed, they were more than likely not given access to the outdoors at all because they might eat a bug and not be vegetarians anymore!
It could just mean their feed was 100% vegetarian, but you'll need to ask your farmer.
Amish Raised - I didn't know this was a thing until I was in Chicago for a work conference and every restaurant had "Amish Chicken" on their menu. Now I know some great pasture-based Amish farmers, but I also can tell you with certainty that this Amish chicken was raised in a conventional confinement barn.
Depending on what the specific Amish community allows as far as utilities, sometimes barns have to be retrofitted to run off natural gas or propane, but they operate in the same manner, work with the same few poultry integrators, feed the same feed, etc. as a typical "English" conventional broiler barn.
Don't be fooled by a buggy on the label, it's the same chicken as the cheaper stuff sitting next to it on the shelf.
Pasture-Raised - Finally, I can go full scale pastured poultry nerd and tell you why I am so passionate about how we raise our chickens and turkeys!
True pasture-raised poultry is night and day different in quality of product, nutritional benefits, quality of life for the birds, and quality of life for the farmers raising them. They also create so many positive benefits to our soils, pastures and communities.
One thing I do want to note is even though our chickens and turkeys eat plenty of greens and forage for proteins, the birds do still need to be supplemented with grain. Their nutritional needs cannot be met by pasture alone. All pasture-raised poultry will be supplemented with an additional feed source. We feed a specialized non-GMO feed ration mixed using grains raised by our local farmers.
The American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA for short) created this video showing pastured poultry production in action and talks about why pasture-raised poultry is so far superior to any other product on the market. How chicken is raised and what they eat really does make a difference!
We’re proud to be part of the APPPA organization and the growing group of farmers across the country raising pastured poultry for our communities. We’re proud of the quality products we raise, that we raise our animals in a sustainable and humane way, and we’re extremely proud to be your farmers.
If you’re ready to taste truly pasture-raised chicken or need a freezer restock, here’s all the chicken options we have to offer!
- Dana
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