Greenify Your Home: Nobody Here Except Us Chickens

A large portion of my life these days is spent either shopping for food, cooking food, serving food, and of course eating food. One may say that I am a bit obsessed, not with food itself but finding the healthiest food possible for the least amount of money. I have spent countless hours wandering through the grocery store bombarded with labels and endless selections. Until the last few years I never really new what I should be selecting for. Is the expensive name brand better or is the quality just as good if I buy generic? I could go on all day on this subject. But today lets focus on CHICKEN.

According to the USDA the average american ate 90 pounds of chicken in 2007 and each year that number is increasing. That is a lot of chicken! So what is the best? First lets start with our options.

1) Conventional Chicken, "Farm Fresh", "Healthy." Also known as Battery or Factory Farm Chickens- These are the chickens sold at most grocery stores. Generally they are the least expensive option. They are raised in small cages stacked on top of each other and are fed genetically modified (GMO) grain and animal products. Typically these animals are treated with antibiotics to prevent diseases caused by overcrowding.

2) Free Range- just means that they have access to the outdoors. It doesn't mean that they actually go outside. No difference in nutrition. Moderate increase in price.

3) Cage Free- No cages but still confined inside for their entire lives and are generally fed animal products and GMO grain unless it specifies vegetarian fed. No evidence that cage free chickens are more nutritious than conventional. moderate increase in price.

4) Organic- Chickens have not been given antibiotics or growth hormones, have been fed only organically produced feed and must have access to pasture. According to the Mayo Clinic no conclusive evidence shows that organic chicken is more nutritious than conventional chicken. Expensive.

5) Pasture Raised- The chickens have pecked at insects, grass seed and grown up on a grassy field and even in some bushes and trees. These chickens are raised in the most humane way available. Pasture raised chickens have higher levels of vitamins, and a healthier balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fats than conventional products. "Pasture raised chickens have 21% less total fat, 30% less saturated fat and 28% fewer calories than their factory-farmed counterparts." (Agricultural Marketing Resource Center.) These happy chicken are of course the most expensive option.

So what's a girl to do? Well after considerable thought on the matter and investigating my local resources I have been lucky enough to find my yearly pasture raised chicken needs through local meat and poultry CSA's. The CSA option brings the price per chicken much lower than the prices found at your local specialty food store. You can check out local pasture raised products at eatwild.com and local harvest. Before I discovered this option I was pretty conflicted. Of course I care how humanely my food is treated but is it worth paying twice as much per chicken when there are no real health benefits? at 90 lbs a year that is a considerable expense! I don't know what the right answer is...

I DO know that I like buying my food from the farm close to my house. I can see the animals and how they are raised. I know the farmers and can see what the animals mean to their families. As for taste I prefer the pasture raised but don't have issue with the taste of conventional. There is some evidence pointing to the health benefits of these animals but I will take that with a grain of salt until more conclusive evidence comes out. Until then I hope my local CSA's keep their prices down so I can continue to enjoy these great chickens:)

The chicken pictured at the top is from our CSA!

this post is reposted from June-2010