09/27/2017
If you’re not a vegetarian or vegan, you probably eat chicken, but what kind of chicken do you eat? These days not all chicken farms are created equal.In fact, some of these places treat their birds horribly and produce some low-quality chicken meat. But quality isn’t the only issue — conventional chicken meat has been found to contain some seriously unwanted pathogens, such as Salmonella. (1) That’s why free-range chicken is the only way to go when you consume this common protein food.
To define chicken, a chicken belongs to the poultry family, which is a group of domesticated birds, including chickens, turkeys and ducks, that are commonly raised by humans for their eggs and meat — along with the nutrients in chicken, such as chicken collagen. There have been so many news stories about why conventional chicken can be so dangerous to our health, not to mention what an unpleasant way these birds live their lives.
So if you’re going to choose chicken as a protein source in your diet, you want to make sure that it’s free-range. The Fresh Plan has your health in mind which is why we serve fresh healthy meals. Meals that are fully prepared so all you have to do is HEAT. EAT. LIVE HEALTHY! Let’s talk about why free-range chicken is so important for both chickens and chicken consumers and why The Fresh Plan uses it.
What Does “Free Range” Mean?
So what does free-range chicken mean exactly? The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines free-range chickens as chicken that come from producers who demonstrate that their chickens have been allowed access to the outside. (2) “Free roaming” is another common term used interchangeably with free range. Typically, chickens that are raised using free-range methods have continuous access to the outdoors for more than 51 percent of their lives. (3)
A local source can really be the best way to guarantee that both are true when it comes to your chicken meat as well as your eggs. I also want to note the difference between cage-free vs. free-range eggs — cage-free eggs come from a hen that had more room than a caged chicken, but it still was not necessarily allowed to go outdoors like a free-range hen.
Benefits of Free-Range Chicken
Great Protein Source
One of the healthiest things about free-range chicken is its high protein content. Just one free-range chicken breast can supply around 52 percent of most people’s daily protein needs. (5, 6) Protein is so crucial to the health of our bodies. It’s so crucial in fact that it’s even referred to as “the building block of life.” When you don’t get an adequate amount of protein in your diet, your cells can have a much harder time growing and repairing themselves as they should. For growing kids and pregnant mothers with growing babies, protein is especially vital. (7)
In 2013, Consumer Reports conducted some highly revealing testing of chicken meat. It purchased 316 raw chicken breasts from various retailers around the country and found that a whopping 97 percent contained potentially harmful bacteria, including Salmonella, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus. Approximately half of the chicken tested also contained at least one bacterium resistant to three or more antibiotics, which means it is a multidrug-resistant bacteria or “superbug.” In addition, over 11 percent contained two or more of these superbugs!
It’s not very surprising that when you put animals of any kind indoors in very tight spaces in high numbers, the areas that these animals live in becoming very unhealthy very fast. For conventionally raised chickens, living conditions are known for being nothing short of gross and highly disturbing.
The majority of conventional chicken comes from factory farms. This means that the chickens are packed into cages, which leads to unsanitary and unhealthy conditions very quickly. The confinement also means that these chickens are more likely to get sick, which is why the majority of conventional chickens are pumped with antibiotics for most, if not all, of their lives. These antibiotics don’t go away and can still be found in the conventional chicken meat offered at supermarkets, restaurants and fast food chains. It’s an unsettling but true fact that 80 percent of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. are actually marketed to animals, not sick people.
Final Thoughts on Free-Range Chicken
The old saying “you are what you eat” applies to both the chicken and the human consuming the chicken. After reading this article, I’m sure you can see why you may want to strongly consider switching from conventional chicken meat to free-range chicken meat. Not only do free-range chickens lead much happier and healthier lives, but they also produce meat that is much healthier and, a lot of times, tastier too.
Time and again, we’re seeing that not only are conventional chickens treated really poorly, but they also carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria that no health-conscious person would want to put into his or her body. I know it costs a little more to buy organic free-range chicken, but this is one of those foods that really warrants paying a little more for a much higher quality product.
Check out our healthy meal plan for pick-up or delivery at: www.thefreshplan.com or call 224.480.3700
