The problem with Chickens

I like my eggs. When I wake up in the morning I enjoy having them sunny side up with a slice of toast. Same with the actual meat- it's pretty much always good. But almost everyone knows about the problems that chickens go through when being raised for their meat. They're stuck over ten to a cage. They're fed an immense amount of hormones in order to make them as fat as possible. Their beaks are broken so that they can't peck each other and lower the quality and thus the price of the meat. And when they are finally killed it is done with no regards to keeping them free of pain. So to combat this outrage many people turned to the more humane solution: Free range. It sounds perfect the chickens have as much open air as they desire, plenty of grain and, when it finally comes time for them to die, they are killed painlessly and knowing they have had a wonderful life. But the question I'm trying to raise is how many people actually know what occurs on these so called "free range farms?"

In actual fact, very few. In the United States and Canada free range means that chickens have access to a yard outside. Now these titles don't talk about the size of the yard, or whether it has to be covered in grass. Many of the chickens go through the same pain as those raised in the 'typical' chicken farm. Their beaks are broken, they have no space and they are given just as many hormones.

There are a few viable alternatives to the problem of non-humane chicken farming. The only problem is, is that you have to look out for them. The most humane raised chickens are certified by Certified Organic Association of BC (COABC) and Pro-cert Certified Organic Egg. Chickens raised in these conditions can behave much more naturally.

The other option are chickens raised in aviaries which include platforms for the birds to sit on giving them much more space, litter and nest boxes. With these though you have the added problem of not knowing whether they are crowded or not.

In my opinion? It would probably be easier to just turn vegan.