I buy only fresh chickens, slaughtered on the spot.
No noticeable difference in taste.
Did they switch farms? Maybe the farm changed practices?
I definitely notice a flavor difference between sources.
If youāre looking for an alternative, try dāArtagnan or Crowd Cow (yeah they sell chicken).
Last year, when everything was out of stock for a while, we ordered directly from dāArtagnan - wasnāt much more expensive than similar quality locally, but there was a major difference in flavor. Also in size: āsmallerā ie normal size pieces.
2 Likes
My whole complaint is . Now a thigh is tasting like a boob .
Thatās what she said too.
2 Likes
Brother jokes.
1 Like
Yes. As I said, the regulations for āfree rangeā are quite lax. It does allow a producer to technically provide āaccessā that most folk wouldnt really think was free range access. It is, no doubt, why a free range chicken bought from a small farm will be more expensive than the equivalent bought from a supermarket (which will buy from one of the large scale producers).
2 Likes
Good point, I bet during long rainy seasons or cold snowing winter, we should avoid buying free range chickens. They wonāt be venturing in the fields anyway.
The article @shrinkrap linked to above has a graphic that was very telling. The key of course is enforcing a vocabulary and educating the consumer about what the words mean. As described by Huffington Post (low on my credibility scale along with most media), the vocabulary they describe only has meaning when associated with one particular non-profit and the use of their certification. That isnāt regulation. Certainly before this thread I assumed a lot more outdoors time for āfree rangeā than appears to be reliably the case.
When it comes to chicken I only buy wings and thighs. 
I donāt care if theyāre organic, free range or deranged.
3 Likes
Absolutely vital - assuming the consumer gives the slightest shit about the welfare of the animal they are about to eat.
And I think that many consumers do indeed give a shit. Exercising their purchasing power, Britons have ensured that most eggs now on sale in supermarkets are from free range or organic birds. You can still buy factory farmed eggs but, in our normal supermarket, they are tucked away in a corner of the egg shelves. And one chain says that it only uses free range eggs in its own brand products.
Language is important here, as suppliers will use all sorts of linguistic twists to try and disguise the fact that these are factory farmed items. Here, only āfree rangeā and āorganicā have any legal status. An, if you think itās tricky with chickens, look again at pork. My supermarket seems āorganicā, āFree rangeā, āoutdoor rearedā, āoutdoor bredā, as well as factory farmed.
If youāve never read Michael Pollanās The Omnivoreās Dilemma, I highly recommend it. He poses the exact same question (in a slightly different wordingā¦) you are, which is that the US definitions of free-range or similarly marketing terms are too loose to be of any value to the consumer. His books was many years ago, and if this has motivated the industry to tighten some of the overuse of those marketings terms, then good. But it is a very eye-opening narrative of our food, food chain, as well as what it really means to be a sustainable farmer.
3 Likes
An eye opening book across the spectrum. Focus is on the US agricultural- industrial complex, but a cautionary read for anyone anywhere.
1 Like
I did read it and think well of it. I recall a few assertions he made that didnāt stand up to inspection, but overall an A-. Itās been years. Iāll have to dig it out and give it another look.
I owned this, but didnāt start reading yet. Thanks for the reminder!
Exactly. And I always laugh when I see eggs or chickens labeled as āfree range AND vegetarianā. No free range chicken is a vegetarian. It eats whatever bugs or crawly varmints it encounters.
6 Likes
Staying on top of labeling and standards in the US meat industry is like tap dancing on quick sand but I found this fairly recent article helpful (if not exactly uplifting):
https://civileats.com/2021/01/19/are-some-animal-welfare-labels-humanewashing/
Sorry, itās a pay wall but it covers a lot of existing labels and how effective or not they would appear to be.
āfree range AND vegetarianā -
thatās entirely possible. the legal definition of free range only says āoutdoorsā
no space per bird set
no definition of what the chicken walk on . . .
a concrete pen outdoors with standard chicken feed will meet the requirementsā¦
1 Like
You can get them?! Wow.
They also must be gluten free for me. 
4 Likes
I will only eat gluten free, free range vegetarians.
6 Likes
