Pasture Raised vs. Factory Raised Chicken

What is the Difference?

* applies to most certified organic chicken

Unvaccinated (mRNA or otherwise) Vaccinated (increasingly moving toward mRNA)

Full beak (no cannibalism) Debeaked (cannibalism a problem)

Probiotics (immuno-stimulant) Antibiotics (immuno-depressant)

Composting litter in brooder (sanitation via decomposition) Sterilized litter (sanitized with toxic fumigants)

Practically no ammonia vapor (smell) *Hyper-ammonia toxicity

Brooder skylights (natural light) *No skylights (artificial light)

Rest at night (no artificial lighting) *Artificial lighting 24/7

No medications Routine medications

No synthetic vitamins Routine synthetic vitamins

No hormones Routine hormones

No appetite stimulants Routine appetite stimulants (arsenic)

Natural trace minerals (kelp) Manufactured acidulated trace minerals

Small groups (300 or fewer) *Huge groups (tens of thousands)

Low stress (group divisions) *High stress

Clean Air * Air hazy with fecal dust (respiratory damage)

Fresh air and sunshine *Limited fresh and practically no sunshine

Plenty of exercise *Limited exercise

Fresh salad bar daily (daily moves to fresh grass) *No green material or bugs

Manure falls directly on growing forage; efficient nutrient cycling *Manure spread inappropriately; nutrient leaching

Small infrastructure footprint (land remains open) *Large infrastructure footprint; permanent single-use housing

Short transport to processing *Long transport to processing

Humane harvesting using cones and natural bleed-out *Inhumane harvesting using electric shock

Carefully hand eviscerated *Mechanically eviscerated (broken intestines/ contamination)

Processing uses only 2.5 gallons of water per bird *Processing uses upwards of 5 gallons water/bird

Offal composted on the farm - excellent fertilizer *Offal rendered, fed back to chickens

No injections during processing Routine injections (anything from tenderizers to dyes)

Low percentage rejected/unhealthy organs or carcasses High percentage unhealthy liver and carcass rejects

Fresh air/sunshine/basic water to sanitize processing area *Toxic germicides to sanitize processing facility

No citric acid anti-microbials on meat *Citric acid anti-microbials required (no alternatives)

No chlorine baths *Up to 40 chlorine bathe (to kill contaminants)

No irradiation FDA approve irradiation (no label required)

No drug-resistant diseases Drug resistant superbugs (MRSA etc.)

Cooking loss 8-10% of carcass weight (robust muscle tone) *Cooking loss 20% of carcass weight (poor muscle tone)

Low saturated fat *High saturated fat

Long keepers (freeze more than a year) *Short keepers (freeze 6 months or less)

Environmentally responsible *Environmentally irresponsible (costs passed to taxpayers)

Promotes family farming Promotes feudal/serf agriculture

Promotes entrepreneurial spirit Promotes low wage/time-clock employment

Decentralized food system *Centralized food system

Rural revitalization Rural serfdom/brain drain

Consumer/producer relationship Consumer/producer alienation

Rich, delicious taste Poor, flat taste

Edible Inedible