Terms like free range or cage free conjure up a picture of livestock with the freedom to roam the green pastures. We think of all natural farming that supports both organic products, as well as abstains from animal cruelty. With free range farming, you can just imagine happy and lively chickens and turkeys, clucking in open fields, and feeding on natural grains. This is rarely the case.What is Free Range?
The US Department of Agriculture USDA has created a definition of free range under their Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Free range is defined as poultry or livestock that were able to have access on the outside. The only thing that they missed defining is the space that would be allotted for these chickens, the number of minutes or hours that they must be allowed to see the sunlight, feed on grass, and breathe fresh air.
Beyond no actual enforcement of roaming free on the range, there is also no legal definition of any other factor that can affect the growth and health of these animals. In fact, even if these animals never step foot outside, but “have access” to it, they can be labeled as “free range”.
Even organizations, like the Humane Farm Animal Care whose certification program covers 14 egg companies and nearly 2 million chickens has created standards for handling of chickens that do not require free range chickens to have access to the range.
What is Cage Free?
Cage free, on the other hand, simply means that the chickens were not raised in battery cages. However, this definition has been designated by commercial use and not the USDA. The FSIS has only limited standards on the label use of cage free products without regulating or inspecting the actual production. Cageless operations do not equate to a more humane living condition of the animals or production of the eggs.
Better Alternatives
Consumers have no way of knowing if free-range or cage-free animals were treated humanely or cruelly. In fact, some farms use techniques such as debeaking (process of mutilating the beak of chickens so that they may not feed properly and preen their feathers) and force molting (lack of food shocks the birds to lose feathers and begin a new laying cycle prematurely).
The American Humane Association (AHA) has created the first US welfare certification program for poultry and dairy as well as beef and pork. The American Humane Certified program (previously the “Free Farmed program”) that utilizes a 3rd party independent verification on animal farms and instead of merely relying on the claims of producers. AHA requires that animals be treated humanely with sufficient food and the absence of cruel practices such as debeaking. The certification can be identified by the sun-shaped logo of a red barn, blue sky and yellow sun encircled with the words “American Humane CERTIFIED”. Supporting products with the AHA label ensures that our dollars are supporting the same cage-free and free-range practices that we had envisioned.
