Free Range Chickens don't need their cages! - New California

From the blog of Wayne Pacelle

"Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed A.B. 1437, a bill backed by The HSUS that requires that starting in 2015 all shell (whole) eggs sold in California must come from hens who were able to stand up, lie down, turn around, and fully extend their limbs without touching one another or the sides of an enclosure. In other words: California will become a cage-free state"

I for one like eggs and hope this accomplishes some measure of reducing suffering for the animals as well providing impetus for the industry to clean up or standardize the labeling practices for eggs.

Interesting none the less - When do you think they will adopt similar legislation in the South Atlantic States?

This reminds me an episode I witnessed at an upscale grocery store in California years ago: a person asked the meat guy if they had any free-range, organic chickens. He looked at the person and in a very calm tone said that if the chickens were really "free range" there would be no way to ensure they only ate organic feed.

Doesn't an open door on a huge chicken coop qualify as "free-range"

Of course, a chicken that has never been outside might choose to not leave the coop anyway....

third coast foodie wrote:From the blog of Wayne Pacelle

"Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed A.B. 1437, a bill backed by The HSUS that requires that starting in 2015 all shell (whole) eggs sold in California must come from hens who were able to stand up, lie down, turn around, and fully extend their limbs without touching one another or the sides of an enclosure. In other words: California will become a cage-free state"

This doesn't say "cage-free." It just says the cages must be roomy.

mhill95149 wrote:Doesn't an open door on a huge chicken coop qualify as "free-range"

Of course, a chicken that has never been outside might choose to not leave the coop anyway....

From the USDA Meat and Poultry Labeling Terms page:

FREE RANGE or FREE ROAMING:
Producers must demonstrate to the Agency that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside.

You are correct that there is no requirement that the chicken leave the coop.

From what I understand, chickens who are raised inside won't leave the coop. You have to train them to do so, or raise them outside somehow....

Just this morning I went out to visit a farm in southern Iowa where they have free-range chickens. We went out to the pasture and watched the farmer drag two wire coops about 10 feet, so that the chickens (broilers) could enjoy a new patch of grass. The chickens had room inside those coops to stretch their wings and turn around and whatnot. The laying hens had much more freedom: they could stay in the henhouse or run around the property as they liked, though they didn't go too far from the food and water, I suspect. It's hot out here.

Anyway, after the visit, the spouse and I were discussing chicken prices. These broilers sell for $3.00/lb., and that's when you buy them right there on the property, with no mark-up from a retailer. The local supermarket has chicken on sale this week for $.79/lb.

I have to wonder what new laws in California will do to chicken prices, since I assume that more room per chicken equals fewer chickens per farm, under current conditions, which should push prices up. That might make small, free-range operations more competitive. And that, in turn, could mean that more of them could flourish, meaning that there might be more chicken-processing plants that would accept small processing orders, which would help the small farms, too (the Iowa farmer we met today said he has to drive about 2 hours to get to a locker that will take his chickens, and we're about 45 minutes from Des Moines). I hope that that's the case, but I'm sure there are other factors I'm not considering.

MariaTheresa wrote:Anyway, after the visit, the spouse and I were discussing chicken prices. These broilers sell for $3.00/lb., and that's when you buy them right there on the property, with no mark-up from a retailer. The local supermarket has chicken on sale this week for $.79/lb.

This worries me. Chicken has gone from a luxury item served for Sunday dinner, if then, during the 1930s, to an everyday commodity for most families -- a cheap, easy and tasty source of protein. If the prices quadruple, a lot of families are going be eating much less of it.

LAZ wrote:

MariaTheresa wrote:Anyway, after the visit, the spouse and I were discussing chicken prices. These broilers sell for $3.00/lb., and that's when you buy them right there on the property, with no mark-up from a retailer. The local supermarket has chicken on sale this week for $.79/lb.

This worries me. Chicken has gone from a luxury item served for Sunday dinner, if then, during the 1930s, to an everyday commodity for most families -- a cheap, easy and tasty source of protein. If the prices quadruple, a lot of families are going be eating much less of it.

That is my concern. I remember the days where six people shared one chicken. Nice only if you had first choice.

Especially if the preacher took two pieces.

No problem, people who have trouble paying higher prices for chicken can start stealing it from big stores or wealthy neighbors. That's just trading one unethical practice in for another which is more direct and possibly even more forgivable in robinhoody way.

Kennyz wrote:No problem, people who have trouble paying higher prices for chicken can start stealing it from big stores or wealthy neighbors. That's just trading one unethical practice in for another which is more direct and possibly even more forgivable in robinhoody way.

Correct. The price of chickens, and many other agricultural products, are artificially low because of a range of subsidies. How cheap? Average income in the US has risen by a factor of 100 since the 1930s. The price of chickens has risen by a factor of...4. Put differently, if the price of chickens kept pace with rising incomes, it would be in the range of $20 per pound, rather than $.79 per pound. So a rise to $3 doesn't worry me, especially if the rise reflects the elimination of subsidies and improvements in animal treatment.

Of course, another worry is that big poultry farmers will simply leave California and set up shop in states with fewer regulations. Again, I'm guessing, but I'd suppose that really large operations could afford to rebuild in Idaho and ship their products to California. On the whole, I'd hope that some changes in regulations would affect standards nationwide, but I think the pressure for low prices is too great right now. I can afford a $7-12 chicken for dinner and it's absolutely worth it to me to have meat that's produced the right way on a farm that doesn't contribute excessive waste to the water system and helps keep a family in the rural community (also, they let us pet the day-old lamb and hold a turkey poult, so there was the cuteness bonus), but I'm in a very small minority there for a lot of reasons.

By the way, the farmer I talked to this morning is part of Practical Farmers of Iowa, an organization that supports ecologically-minded (but not necessarily "certified organic") farmers in that state. If you've ever wondered what kinds of small farms or alternative meat producers there are in Illinois, and what their concerns are, there are some good links here:

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/small ... urces.html

I suffer less from sticker shock now that I'm familiar with some of the issues small farms face and what it costs in time, money, and paperwork to get me the kind of bird I want to eat.