What Does Free Range Mean?
For most, free range pork means that the pigs lived their lives outdoors and spend their days roaming and grazing in paddocks. Sows stalls and farrowing crates do not belong with this way of farming either as animal welfare is the major driver for the growth in demand for ethical, pasture based pig production.
If you have been following the free range egg industry or consumer trends, you will know that there has been a debate over what a free range egg is for a very long time. The demand for ethically raised pork, chickens and eggs rose so dramatically that the large corporations also wanted a piece of the pie but weren’t prepared to put as much effort as smaller operators had been into producing them. Instead they have applied the usual ‘intensive’ practices that have been the norm within the industry for some time.
In Australia, the definition of a free range egg has now been established and the outcome has been disappointing for both producers and consumers. The long battle over who gets to put the words free range on their egg carton, and the new'information standard' that does not require the hens to actually go outside, has damaged the integrity of the term to the extent that genuine free range farmers have distanced themselves and now call their eggs Pastured. Pastured better defines the production system that free range was originally based on and meets consumer expectations for ethically raised hens.
Why are we talking about free range eggs?
The outcome of the egg definition will directly impact on the definition for free range pork. Therefore, free range pigs will also only need 'meaningful access' to an outdoor range with no requirement for them to actually go outside. For grower pigs, or porkers, stocking densities are only limited by the floor space required in the sheds they are housed in.
Pastured definition: All animals are born and raised outdoors and spend their life time free to explore open paddocks. They are kept at an intensity that will ensure access to forage and grazing.
Pigs are incredibly intelligent and social animals specially equipped to roam and forage on the land. Chickens are decedents of jungle fowl and we believe that pigs and poultry deserve better than a life of confinement. If the definition above fits nicely with your perceptions of what free range should look like, then we are united on the meaning of pastured free range.
The industrial free range pork, egg and poultry production model is in clear contrast to the holistic approach to farming that pastured producers engage in. We use the word engage because to raise pigs on pasture you need to do just that, engage with the pigs and understand their uniqueness, engage with the environment and work to sustain and improve it as part of a farm ecosystem and engage with the consumer to understand what they expect from the farmer and to educate them about people friendly, animal friendly and planet friendly farming. Learn more about pig welfare ...
Not all free range pork is created equal. Claims abound when it comes to free range because we do not have a legal definition for the term..... yet. To put it simply, you will not find genuine pastured free range pork on the supermarket shelves. What you will find in supermarkets is 'bred' free range, a system of production that allows the sow to live outdoors but raises her piglets in sheds or large shelters. Bred Free Range or Outdoor Bred have now been found to be misleading by the ACCC and can no longer be used to describe pork. If you are seeking pork from pigs that was raised outdoors on pasture then your best option is to shop at your local butcher, deli, green grocer or Farmer's Market. Ask for PROOF that the pigs were raised on pasture in open fields or paddocks.
'Bred Free Range', Outdoor Bred', Outdoor bred, Raised indoors on Straw', 'Born and Bred Free Range'?
These terms do not mean that the pigs are free range. All these terms mean is that only the sow lives outdoors and that her piglets are weaned as early as 21 days of age and moved indoors into sheds or what the industry likes to refer to as eco shelters. The pork produced from bred free range or outdoor bred is not free range. The pigs that the pork comes from were raised indoors, not outdoors on pasture. Being raised indoors on straw bedding over a concrete floor is not free range.
To be sure you are buying genuine pastured free range pork, look for farms that use pastured based systems and allow their animals to graze freely in the open for their entire lives. Ask for PROOF to ensure that it is pastured!
If you have been following the free range egg industry or consumer trends, you will know that there has been a debate over what a free range egg is for a very long time. The demand for ethically raised pork, chickens and eggs rose so dramatically that the large corporations also wanted a piece of the pie but weren’t prepared to put as much effort as smaller operators had been into producing them. Instead they have applied the usual ‘intensive’ practices that have been the norm within the industry for some time.
In Australia, the definition of a free range egg has now been established and the outcome has been disappointing for both producers and consumers. The long battle over who gets to put the words free range on their egg carton, and the new'information standard' that does not require the hens to actually go outside, has damaged the integrity of the term to the extent that genuine free range farmers have distanced themselves and now call their eggs Pastured. Pastured better defines the production system that free range was originally based on and meets consumer expectations for ethically raised hens.
Why are we talking about free range eggs?
The outcome of the egg definition will directly impact on the definition for free range pork. Therefore, free range pigs will also only need 'meaningful access' to an outdoor range with no requirement for them to actually go outside. For grower pigs, or porkers, stocking densities are only limited by the floor space required in the sheds they are housed in.
Pastured definition: All animals are born and raised outdoors and spend their life time free to explore open paddocks. They are kept at an intensity that will ensure access to forage and grazing.
Pigs are incredibly intelligent and social animals specially equipped to roam and forage on the land. Chickens are decedents of jungle fowl and we believe that pigs and poultry deserve better than a life of confinement. If the definition above fits nicely with your perceptions of what free range should look like, then we are united on the meaning of pastured free range.
The industrial free range pork, egg and poultry production model is in clear contrast to the holistic approach to farming that pastured producers engage in. We use the word engage because to raise pigs on pasture you need to do just that, engage with the pigs and understand their uniqueness, engage with the environment and work to sustain and improve it as part of a farm ecosystem and engage with the consumer to understand what they expect from the farmer and to educate them about people friendly, animal friendly and planet friendly farming. Learn more about pig welfare ...
Not all free range pork is created equal. Claims abound when it comes to free range because we do not have a legal definition for the term..... yet. To put it simply, you will not find genuine pastured free range pork on the supermarket shelves. What you will find in supermarkets is 'bred' free range, a system of production that allows the sow to live outdoors but raises her piglets in sheds or large shelters. Bred Free Range or Outdoor Bred have now been found to be misleading by the ACCC and can no longer be used to describe pork. If you are seeking pork from pigs that was raised outdoors on pasture then your best option is to shop at your local butcher, deli, green grocer or Farmer's Market. Ask for PROOF that the pigs were raised on pasture in open fields or paddocks.
'Bred Free Range', Outdoor Bred', Outdoor bred, Raised indoors on Straw', 'Born and Bred Free Range'?
These terms do not mean that the pigs are free range. All these terms mean is that only the sow lives outdoors and that her piglets are weaned as early as 21 days of age and moved indoors into sheds or what the industry likes to refer to as eco shelters. The pork produced from bred free range or outdoor bred is not free range. The pigs that the pork comes from were raised indoors, not outdoors on pasture. Being raised indoors on straw bedding over a concrete floor is not free range.
To be sure you are buying genuine pastured free range pork, look for farms that use pastured based systems and allow their animals to graze freely in the open for their entire lives. Ask for PROOF to ensure that it is pastured!
