Free-Range Meats and Poultry

With industrialization comes a shift in the manner farm animals are raised. In most developing countries, farm animals, especially grazing animals, like goats, sheep, and cattle, are fed primarily on what they forage for themselves. However, the more industrialized a nation becomes, the more its animals are housed in buildings, where feeds are provided to them, and the less time the animals spend grazing and foraging. In industrialized countries, foods from animals raised outdoors on grass, often called “free range,” usually cost more and become something of an alternative, specialty, or niche product. This is the situation in the United States today. This entry compares raising animals in total confinement and raising animals outdoors and discusses the implications of each.