Confused about "Free Range"?

When you go to the supermarket it can be a real challenge to wade through all the different labelling. There are shelves upon shelves of eggs! I bumped into a gorgeous gal there the other week frowning a lot and asked if she was looking for true free range:  “Yeah - I don’t want the bullshit ones!”,  was her answer. Well – that sums it up for me! So I told her what I follow: Organic is definitely good if you can afford it as their requirements are strict and clear.

The short version of the story is to be absolutely sure your eggs are the kind of free range you would prefer to support. One way I have found is to look for these logos:

 

Producers bearing these logos have gone through really strict assessments to achieve this acknowledgement which is one of the reasons they are more expensive. If your 'free range' eggs are cheap, chances are they are not accredited. The longer version of the story has to do with producers "bending" the truth about their product being what most folk would call 'fair dinkum' free-range. The fact is  that the term “free range” gets bandied about almost as much as the terms “healthy” and “organic”. (I will have many posts on these latter topics also...)

Talk about “in the eye of the beholder!”.

In Australia the Free Range definition is encoded in the Animal Welfare Model Code of Practice, 2002 which states that birds should have access to an outdoor range. The code itself notes that the number of birds per hectare needs to be specified but as yet there is no specification about how much access   for how long or whether that outdoor range is bare dirt or edible pasture. The minimum stocking density is 1500 birds per hectare, though some producers opt for even lower density of 750 birds per hectare. The problem is, there is no maximum  so birds may have very differing conditions yet still be labelled free-range. The Australian Egg Corporation (AEC)  are reviewing this and were apparently at one point looking at having 20,000 birds per hectare endorsed. So far QLD is the only state to legislate that 1500 birds per hectare max is the standard  for product to be labelled as free range. Have I mentioned how much I love Queenslander's before? Yay the Sunshine State is all I can say!.

The welfare of the birds and the variables between free range, barn laid and cage in terms of bird health are complex. The AEC has produced an interesting document on their website which refutes claims that free range means happier birds. Free range birds are not as protected from predators and illness and pecking from other birds according to the publication. Here is a link so you can if interested explore this very explosive and emotional topic for yourself.
Your Eggs Your Choice

This site gives a good summary of the categories available and what they really mean in terms of the birds:  The Sustainable Org

One of the most trustworthy places to buy your eggs is
the local  Farmers’ Market eg like these good folk who do the 750 ratio: Real Free Range Eggs. It is amazing the difference eye-balling the producer makes to credibility. Go Dan! :)

My last word on this subject (for now)  is that whilst economically it is important for consumers to have choice in how their eggs/meat are raised, it is still not right that producers can charge a premium prices for so called "free range" without having put in the hard yards to achieve  proper standardised care practices and become  accredited. Same goes for chicken meat.