Free Range !

Sixty years ago having a chicken dinner was something usually restricted to a birthday surprise because chicken meat was hugely more expensive than steak, chops and sausages.   Now the situation is reversed.

A gigantic industry has developed to deliver chicken meat to not only the fast food industry, but to put chicken on the table as a cheaper alternative to beef and pork.   Then there is the by-product of chickens - eggs !

The industry has been getting bad publicity in recent times as investigative journalists have uncovered cruel farming methods to fill chickens with anti-biotics to grow them to maturity faster - and to cram them together in " battery conditions " to increase profits.

Buyers began to rebel - and the industry promised change.    A new term began to appear.   Eggs came from " Free Range " chickens - and we were led to believe that this meant chickens freed from containment in small cages and allowed to roam free.   Unfortunately, what passed for " Free Range " was not subjected to legislation and remains the interpretation of the individual farmer.

Along with this labelling came a sharp increase in price.   Eggs that  came from " caged battery hens " were a lot cheaper than eggs that supposedly came from " Free Range " hens, but the  circumstances that applied to
chicken flocks varied widely.     The term " Free Range " began to get distinction additives - such as " Barn ".

Mostly, this was purely the image that formed in the buyers mind.   They imagined " Free Range " hens happily scratching about in the open, under a blue sky and with food and water always available.  The term " Barn " described birds with individual freedom, but housed in a roofed barn to protect them from the weather.    Many people paid the extra quite happily on the understanding that the birds were enjoying a more humane lifestyle.

The public seemed to concentrate on the chickens that produced the eggs they had for breakfast - and ignored the frozen chook bought from the supermarket and roasted for the family dinner.  These were usually grown under factory conditions, crammed into a space that contained twenty birds to the square metre - and force fed to achieve maturity in the quickest possible time.

Now the pressure is on to create a legislative framework that will precisely measure what the terms used in chicken - and egg production - really mean.

It seems to be heading into a fight between a Green element which claims that chickens are living creatures that should have their " quality of life " protected by the law, and the chicken industry that claims any interference with the present methods will see prices go through the roof - and chicken meat disappear from the family dinner table.

The pivotal point of this battle will probably be making a first appearance where eggs are concerned.  At present the public is not getting what it pays for.   Eggs that are supposedly " Barn " or " Free Range " are under no obligation to attain any such measure.   The most likely outcome will be a strict definition - subject to inspections to guarantee adherence.

But - there will probably be unintended consequences.  The present production methods deliver the end product at the lowest possible price.   Expect to see the day when the price of chicken products has risen to parity with beef and pork.

Such is the price of progress !