What Free Range Actually Means

Free range rarely means anything close to what you think it does just as fat free doesn t mean the item is free of calories or real fruit juice doesn t mean that the entirety of the bottle is fruit juice.

What free range actually means.

Although organic does mean something very specific the label still doesn t guarantee the happiness of the chickens nor the freshness of the eggs. There s always a little spin with marketing and advertising so be smart and aware when you re shopping. In accordance with the u s. It can also refer to animals who have free access to graze or forage for food.

However it doesn t mean that the hens actually go outdoors or that the outdoor. Free range denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals for at least part of the day can roam freely outdoors rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day. Free range means hens have adequate space to move around inside their houses and have access to an outdoor space where they can roam freely. The term free range refers to food from animals that have access to outdoor spaces.

What free range should mean versus reality in the chicken industry the label free range largely applies to chickens who are raised for meat. What does free range actually mean. What it really means. In order to use the organic label the chickens must not only be fed organic feed but must also be free range cage free plus have access to the outdoors.

Unfortunately it is not a usda regulated term so it can mean different things depending on the brand. It is just one example of the different egg production. Free range is not the same as organic. It s complicated asda is launching a new range of ethically produced milk but the free range label also found on eggs and meat can be confusing.

Free range another usda term means that the eggs come from hens that have some sort of access to the outdoors.