Free-range meats come from animals with unrestricted access to pastures. Laws for free-range chicken eggs are non-existent, causing confusion for consumers. Animal rights activists have called for clearer guidelines from the Department of Agriculture. Some shoppers are concerned about disease, but proponents believe the benefits outweigh the risks.
Free-range meats are cuts of meat from animals that are allowed unrestricted access to pastures, rather than being kept close together in, and some say, inhumane, little pens. This includes meat from cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry. In the past, poultry in particular was subject to living in very closed spaces. Now, free-range chicken comes from animals that are allowed to roam much more room, even though they may still be in large enclosed chicken coops or chicken coops.
Meats cannot be called free range unless animal farmers follow the guidelines set by the government in which they are sold. For example, the US Department of Agriculture monitors these guidelines in the US. Sometimes, others criticize these rules as still considered cruel.
Free-range meat laws for chickens, for example, simply state that chickens must be allowed outside. However, the laws for free-range chicken eggs are non-existent. Some grocery stores were targeted by animal rights activists when it was discovered that their free-range eggs were laid by chickens that were kept in slightly larger pens than those housing non-free-range chickens, but their movement was still restricted. .
Animal rights activists quickly sent the word out to others to boycott eggs from these stores. Stores attempted to negotiate contracts with farmers who would supply eggs from hens given more room. This kind of problem could be avoided in the future with more clearly defined laws from the Department of Agriculture.
The specific guidelines from the Department of Agriculture for other animals are clearer. Cattle and sheep must have continuous access to a pasture and can never be confined to a feedlot. Pigs cannot be confined to a feedlot for more than 20% of their life. When farmers meet these conditions, they can market the meat derived from these animals as free-range.
Some shoppers have concerns about buying free-range meats because they may be more prone to disease. In the recent surge in bird flu cases, some people are very concerned about free-range chicken or other poultry. The inability to confine animals in order to satisfy the law is a current concern. Proponents of free-range meat believe the benefits to animals far outweigh the risk of disease.
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