Silly question about Free Range Stuff

[tinamarie1]

The kids and I started going to a neat little farmers market here on the weekends. There is also a Health food store out there that sells free range eggs and whole chicken. I haven't tried the chicken yet, but we got some of the eggs, and to my surprise the kids LOVE them. They told me they taste wayyy better than store bought.
They really weren't much more than store bought price wise...and I noticed the whole chickens were actually less than the store kind. So, heres my silly question...why aren't all eggs and chicken in the store free range? I mean, who wants all those hormones and whatever in their food? Does it have something to do with mass production, and its cheaper for the farmers to not do the free range stuff?
This really has my brain working about all the chemicals and such that are in our food.

 

[Big Bad Kitty]

Not a silly question AT ALL!

I am sure it has to do with cost and production. I bet the chicken is unbelievable!

 

[Lothlorien]

It is mass production. The more chickens around, the more backteria, hence the antibiotics. They give them hormones to grow faster, so they can sell them faster.

I always buy free range/antibiotic/hormone free as much as possible.

I had a cousin who was severely overweight. When started eating only hormone/antibiotic free meat, she shed a lot. She'll never be a thin person, but she took off about 100 pounds. Her doctor said she was extremely sensitive to the hormones and stuff in the meats

 

[totoro]

Plus with free range they have to give X amount of green area to range/feed on... graze eat bugs etc. so the farmer has the up-keep for the land, has to keep the land "green" usually they have to have another crop going to keep land going, like a grass or a grain... They have to keep it pesticide and hormone free... so if anything gets into the land they have to figure out a green way to get rid of it, like if they get a noxious weed, get goats or a natural pesticide that is approved...
Plus cost of land versus the cost of a cage and feed for the animals... It is much cheaper to shove an animal in as small a cage as possible feed them the cheapest food as possible and try to make a living...

It is a hard call on both sides... we try to buy local and Growth Hormone free as well as organic... but it adds up.