I am aware of this. I am merely pointing out that the organic label does not mean that better husbandry is practiced than on conventional farms. (In fact, on midwestern dairies the opposite is often found to be the case.)
A lot of people assume that if the package says "organic" that the animals must somehow be treated better, and this is not the case.
but free-range would indicate that the animals are treated better?
To me, free range means they're not cooped up... they can run around somewhere and aren't confined to a pen with 8,000,000 other poor chickies. Organic is something else entirely and is dependent upon their diet.
The two are not synonymous, at least in our neck of the woods. You can have a non-organic free-range chicken/egg or you can have an organically-fed chicken which may not be free-range.
Is free-range a term that has a legal definition? (Sorry if someone has already clarified that, I didn't have time to do more than skim really quickly thru the thread.)
I'm under the impression that that term isn't regulated, so they can use it to mean whatever they feel like, but I might be wrong. I know I've read that either that or "cage-free" (or possibly both) doesn't have legal meaning, so they aren't held to any standards of truth in advertising. Can't remember any more clearly than that, though...
Later on I'll search it when I have more time, or maybe someone else can or has already...
Free range is not regulated, therefore the term could apply just about
any livestock that had a free range somewhere along the lines
We have "free range " chickens here at the Farmerpeople's farm. Getting the eggs is like an Easter egg hunt. Stupid chickens lay eggs wherever the hell theywant and if your gonna make a business out of it, you need to have them caged and then give them some time in the "yard" each day.
our eggs are nice and high and orange cause the chickens love marigold petals and American cheese.
(We tried to induce them to lay omelette eggs)
FM, Once you find where your chook(s) lay leave an egg behind when you collect. The hen will return to the same spot (mostly or sometimes or not at all). You can buy plastic eggs. if concerned about how long an egg has been out.
4 catagories seem evident in Oz
Ours:
When the buggers dont lay I casually bring the axe out and lean it against the chook pen fence.
Free range:
Barn; Means they have room to walk around and nest boxes to choose from but ther might be 500 hens in a room.
Caged.
Re: Eggs, they're whats for brekkies
dyslexia wrote:So the lady Diane and meself are at the market today and we need eggs, she goes right for the "free-range large AA" at $3.79 dozen and I go for the "regular" large AA @ $1.19. ( we bought the "free-range") I'm thinking "what's the difference?". Now before you "organic nutjobs accost me, I, when still living on my farm, had nothing but "free-range" eggs. The thing is I don't know what value "free-range has when you are in the market and you have no idea what you are buying anyway.
Someone prolly already said this...but battery egg/chicken meat production is awfully cruel.
I won't support such cruelty with my money.
I am happy to pay for chooks which have a reasonably decent life.
And it does get checked here.
I am told by my roommate that they taste better. So I just take his word for it. But that when I look at him I think to myself " Man, This dude will buy anything."
But then I think about the chicken running around on the "free range", whatever the hell that is, and I tell him "Yea,Yea, I taste, it I taste. You know you $hit buddy, your good, your good."
Probably the best money we'll ever spend.
FREE THE CHICKENS!
DOWN WITH EGGS!
(if I were the dictator I would make a law that you had to catch the chicken if you wanted an egg)
I get my eggs from the Hutterites. At least to know how it all happens and come to be.
'Free range' isn't all that nice either, me don't thinks. You don't really know what you are getting - caged animals let out once in a while, a bunch of (disguisting) chickens in a barn or old shed or what have you, flying around like a bunch of maniacs, injuring each other. It's possible and it would be 'free range'. Or the chickies left out in the cold and ill fed, or little opportunity for proper feeding.
I really don't think there is a 'humane' solution to getting eggsies. These are domestic animals - slaves - so unless it is a pet who you fetch the eggs from as you like, there is a certain amount of 'ickiness' involved, yes?
I can say honestly though - the eggs at the Safeway, the 'regulars' don't taste or look or cook as well as the Hutt eggsies. I have tried the 'organic'(Nice packaging! But only 8 eggs a carton or less?), the pricey 'free-range' and wasn't overly impressed.
They were better, I guess, but that could be just because they needed to be so I could rationalize spending that much so Mr. could have an omelette.
Dys, what is your verdict on how the 'free range' taste to you compared to regulars?
flushd wrote:I get my eggs from the Hutterites. At least to know how it all happens and come to be.
'Free range' isn't all that nice either, me don't thinks. You don't really know what you are getting - caged animals let out once in a while, a bunch of (disguisting) chickens in a barn or old shed or what have you, flying around like a bunch of maniacs, injuring each other. It's possible and it would be 'free range'. Or the chickies left out in the cold and ill fed, or little opportunity for proper feeding.
I really don't think there is a 'humane' solution to getting eggsies. These are domestic animals - slaves - so unless it is a pet who you fetch the eggs from as you like, there is a certain amount of 'ickiness' involved, yes?
I can say honestly though - the eggs at the Safeway, the 'regulars' don't taste or look or cook as well as the Hutt eggsies. I have tried the 'organic'(Nice packaging! But only 8 eggs a carton or less?), the pricey 'free-range' and wasn't overly impressed.
They were better, I guess, but that could be just because they needed to be so I could rationalize spending that much so Mr. could have an omelette.
Dys, what is your verdict on how the 'free range' taste to you compared to regulars?
Well, frankly when I raised my own chickies that were pretty much free-range (they had a large yard and often let loose in the garden to eat the bugs) the eggsies were gathered every morning; They did taste and look somewhat different then what is available in the market. My real concern is that because a package says "free-range" doesn't actually mean anything other than the price is higher.
For the "free range" eggs, you're probably right, dys, they only cost more.
I inquired locally whether the "free range" concept could be applied to husbands.
I was informed it could not.
George wrote:I inquired locally whether the "free range" concept could be applied to husbands.
I was informed it could not.
Hens lay the eggies not the roosters.
dyslexia wrote:George wrote:I inquired locally whether the "free range" concept could be applied to husbands.
I was informed it could not.
Hens lay the eggies not the roosters.
I'm not sure how to interpret that.
You mean the roosters aren't getting laid?
quote ;
"You mean the roosters aren't getting laid? "
no , they just have their heads chopped off and make a nice "rooster soup"
.
hbg
Dys
During the Great Depression, my family raised rabbits in pens to provide meat in our diets. Problem was that we tended to make pets of the rabbits and were sickened by them being killed to eat. To this day, I cannot eat rabbit.
During WWII, my family raised a variety of chickens to make up for eggs and meat rationing. We would buy a number of baby chicks and keep them warm in a home-made incubator. When they were old enough, they were moved into a fenced pen with a wooden hen house. Again, we tended to make pets of them. My favorite chicken was was a Rhode Island Red I named Brownie. My father forgot Brownie was my pet and one day killed her for dinner. It took a long time for me to forgive my father.
It was my job to feed grain to the chickens and to bring in the eggs each day. The eggs tasted much better than store purchased eggs.
The worst memory I have of raising chickens was watching my grandmother pick up a chicken, whirl it around until it's neck was broken. She would then chop off the chicken's head but it continued to thrash around on the ground for several minutes. I couldn't stand to watch after I saw that the first time.
BBB
