Free range vs organic chicken

So, it’s great!  You have decided that you are going to buy organic meat from now on.  You step into the grocery store and want to buy some chicken meat…but which one should you choose? Here is the difference between free range vs organic chicken.

When you are just starting out to eat more natural food, both organic as well as free range chicken may look the same in their proper packaging. But there are some prominent differences between the two like that of hormones, chemicals, antibiotics etc…

Let’s put them into perspective here.

Majority of free range chicken producers say that they don’t include additives, but you should only trust those that have been certified by the relevant authorities in your area. Check the presence of official logos and labels on the packaging, as it will indicate whether the chicken contains additives or not. The point worth noting is that not all brands possess proper certification from the authorities.

Read about some of the disadvantages of genetically modified food here.

Free range vs organic chicken

Just because the chickens are not caged and allowed to roam around (i.e. free-range) does not automatically mean that the chickens were organically raised. Free range chickens may still be given antibiotics, hormones and other chemicals to increase their size and make them mature faster.

Certified organic chickens are grown without the use of antibiotics, supplements, hormones etc. The feed used is also free of herbicides, fertilizers and other chemicals.

So while both free range and organic chickens are free to roam around and get enough sunshine plus fresh air, there are very different as explained above.

The same explanation of “free range vs. organic” is true for eggs and other meats.

Conventional chickens are grown quickly so that they are ready to be consumed in about 30 days whereas organic chickens usually take about 60 days to mature. The additional time taken to grow organic chickens and the type of feed used to make organic chickens pricier.

At the end of the day, we must remember that nature is always the best and it is difficult to know how conventional chicken meat producers raise their chickens, especially if profit is the main objective.

Article on Reuters: Is organic chicken worth paying for?

Consume as much naturally grown meat as you can as this will help minimize the amount of unnatural chemicals and toxins that you put into your body. The heftier price of organic and natural food will be much less compared to the medical fees that you will have to incur later in life as a result of consuming too much food that grown using chemicals. In most cases, the chemicals and toxins that you consume will slowly accumulate in your body and you will only gradually notice the side effects over time. The scary point is that if you notice the side effects too late, the condition may be irreversible.

So, free range vs organic chicken? I hope I have helped you answer this question…