The recent wave of people switching to free range chicken is not a coincidence or a fad. When you weigh the pros and cons of organic, free range chicken vs. non-organic supermarket chicken, it’s clear why so many people are making the switch. You’ve probably heard that it’s healthier for you and the chicken, but what does organic, free range chicken actually mean? It might sound complicated but it’s pretty easy to understand.
What is “Free Range Chicken”
The term “free range” refers to how the chicken is raised. On a mass production farm, chickens are raised in horrible conditions, with no exposure to sunlight or fresh air. Try putting yourself in that position. You wouldn’t be too healthy if you spent all your time indoors, never going outside. Plus on those farms, the chickens basically live on top of one another. Cramming as many chickens as they can into one space may raise production numbers, but it sure doesn’t lead to healthy chickens.
Access to Pasture Rule
Instead of spending their entire lives in a cage, free range chickens have the benefits of exploring the outdoors. These rules however had to be redefined by the Department of Agriculture because some farms’ definition of “outdoors” was a slab of cement on the side of a building. So in 2010, the Access to Pasture rule was created to clearly define the outdoor lifestyle for organic, free range livestock. The term organic not only refers to the living conditions of the chickens, but also to the food it was fed. With the enactment of the “Access to Pasture” rule, organic, free range chickens must be allowed access to pastures to forge for insects and vegetation to supplement the grains that they are fed.
You Are What You Eat
Buying organic, free range chicken will guarantee that you and your family will receive the most nutritional benefits from that chicken. Remember, you are what you eat. Free range chicken is free from harmful antibiotics and hormones that regular high volume farms add to their chickens. Free range chicken has been fed a diet of grains and forge like they would in nature for insects. This adds to the nutritional value and produces lean, healthy chicken.
Buying free range chicken will have a major impact on your health and the environment as a whole. make the switch to free range chicken and set you and your family on a path to better health.
Contact Dostall Farms to order your chickens today.
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Dostall Farms is a family owned farm in Lorain County
