Thursday 22 November 2012

Free Range Standards

I get regular emails from Choice and this one in particular touched a nerve with me.

Even though we do not buy eggs I know that not everyone has the ability to have chickens and therefore must purchase the eggs for their household.  What I do not support is the watered down version of "free Range" the the egg corporations are proposing.  I do not think that anyone purchasing free range eggs should have to question to what degree the chickens  are actually free range before trusting the label on the carton.  They either are or they are not.  And at 20,000 chickens per hectare or 5 chicken per Sq Metre, in my opinion they are not.

Here is the email I was sent please try and comment on their facebook page or email if you can.

Earlier this year, over 3100 people stood with CHOICE to ask the ACCC to reject the Australian Egg Corporation's unreasonable attempt to increase "free range" stocking densities by 13-fold.
The great news for consumers is that the ACCC listened to us, finding that 20,000 chickens per hectare does "not accord with consumer expectations about the free range production of eggs".
This is a welcome development, however it is only an initial assessment and the final decision is yet to be made. The Egg Corporation has announced it will try to overturn the decision.
CHOICE will continue to fight for a consistent national free-range standard that meets consumer expectations but we need your help!
We want the ACCC to know that consumers support their decision to reject the dodgy free-range standard. Please lend your voice to our effort by commenting on the image on our Facebook page.

Free range
You can also email us at campaigns@choice.com.au. We will forward your messages to the ACCC.

3 comments:

  1. thanks for the link Fiona, totally agree that this is NOT free-range!

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  2. 20,000 chickens per hectare is actually 2 chickens per Sq Metre.

    However, I agree with you. It's not free-range..

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  3. I'm sick of having to investigate every item I buy from the supermarkets. "Made in Australia" can include imported ingredients, "Australian owned" does not mean Australian made, "low-fat" means I need to scrutinise the sugar content. And why would I buy "free range" eggs from a company that also sells cage eggs? When I imagine free range chooks, I imagine big sheds that open out to big paddocks. I wish people would stop lying to us for money.

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