Labels such as "cage free", "free range" and even "all natural" are very
misleading. Cage free and free range make us think of happen little chicken
farms where chickens are free to roam through fields of grass... or
something like that. The reality is that cage free birds are instead housed
in barns filled with thousands of chickens. Their beaks are cut/burned to
remove the hook as a way to prevent the chickens from injuring each other.
The floor is covered in chicken poo. For the eggs/meat to be considered
free range all the farm has to do is provide a door from the barn leading to
an outside area. The door does not have to be opened for a certain number
of hours during the day nor does the area have to be a big sprawling field.
Usually it's just a small pen with a layer of chicken poo on the floor.
It's a nice idea, but as consumers we are being mislead with these labels.
I wish it was different. It's not fair to let the animals suffer, but I do
not know how the farming industry will ever be able to change.
-Amanda-
