Organic vs Free-Range Chicken

In the UK, it is estimated that we eat 2.2 million chickens EVERY DAY. This brain boggling number is a depressing fact, considering that fewer than 5% are reared in an organic system. The huge demand for the nation’s favourite meat has driven down welfare standards in favour of more ‘efficient’ systems, namely using birds that have been genetically bred to grow at an unnatural speed to be ‘ready’ for slaughter in just 35 days.

When shopping for chicken, beyond organic there exists a murky world of labels such as outdoor bred and free-range.

The key difference between organic and free-range is that organic is a legislated, regulated, inspected, consistent and licensed accreditation, and the latter is an elastic term that encompasses lots of different farming methods with no standards or governing bodies to ensure its applied consistently. It’s fairly common knowledge that barn-reared chickens are likely to have been produced in unpleasant high-density conditions, but there is confusion around exactly what free-range means for birds.

Free-range is a term that most of us have come to accept means that an animal will be left to live outdoors in a natural environment for a time during its life. We are often asked if our organic chickens are free-range and of course, the answer is yes, but what not everyone realises is that the organic standard goes so much further than that.

There are five key differences between organic and free-range standards. Soil Association's organic standards cover:

  • The size of the flock

  • The amount of space, and type of environment animals have

  • The way they are treated

  • What they are fed

  • Use of antibiotics

Here at Healthy Halal we source our poultry from farms having a smaller flock as it encourages more use of the birds' outdoor range, and makes it easier to take care of animals on an individual level, ensuring the birds are kept to the highest standards of welfare.

We have an additional difference to add, and that is FLAVOUR! Welfare issues aside, we would argue that our chickens are for sure much tastier. Our halal chicken contains less saturated fat but higher omega-3 fatty acids which are good for your heart. We are passionate about the slow-growth, healthy, happy lifestyles that our halal chickens lead, which we know results in chicken as it should taste – succulent and juicy with a depth of flavour that is second to none.

We deliver fresh halal meat across the UK from grass fed halal beef, grass fed halal lamb, halal turkey meat, halal game meat, halal burgers, halal sausages & much more. All delivered fresh to your doorstep.

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