What do "Free Range" and "Pasture Raised" Really
Mean?
Did you know: Nearly all poultry
sold in the US as "Free Range" merely satisfies the
minimum USDA requirement for "access to the outdoors"?
They are barn-raised birds with doors open for part of
the day to a tiny outside yard, usually smaller than
the crowded indoor space where they spend most of
their lives, fed and watered with automated
equipment. Even most so-called "pasture-raised"
poultry spends its entire life in small 10x12 ft
moveable cages. Our geese, by contrast, are free to
strut and forage unfettered throughout large tracts of
natural, organically certified pasture 24 hours a day.
They have access to shelter if they want it, but
usually prefer the outdoors as they would in their
natural habitat. At night they are protected
from predators by our livestock guardian dogs (photo
at right).
Processing &
Packaging