Let Them Eat Chicken

I am participating in an awareness program that relates to choosing the type of produce and meat you buy. In this case, I am choosing free-range chicken. The “Let them eat chicken” awareness program is organized by Kate, the author of A Merrier World blog – it is all about having better welfare for our chickens.

Now, I have seen TV programs where chickens are squeezed in tight cages made to stay stagnant in a compact world of their own feces. It is not for the faint of the heart and it definitely makes you think twice about ever eating poultry or meat again. It is a cruel condition that no animal should endure, especially when their bodies and livelihood is responsible in nourishing us. A chicken, or any livestock, deserves the same amount of respect and proper treatment as do the rest of us.

So, part of this awareness program is to publish my favorite chicken recipe, where I bought my chicken and how does it taste. Before I go to the latter points, here is one of my favorite chicken recipe: Ayam Masak Merah Madu or Honeyed Red Chicken.

I bought these drumsticks from the farmers’ market at Marche Atwater. It was grain-fed chicken drumsticks in a 6 piece pack – I did not ask the seller if they were from free range chickens but I remember distinctly that they were organic. Surely, that must mean they weren’t injected with chemicals to promote faster growth and had ample space to grow – I am not exactly well versed in the difference between organic and free-range although i think it has to do with the date they mature for the abbatoir. They taste excellent as compared to the cheaper supermarket ones for some reason. The meat is tenderer and sweet, whereas the ones I use to buy from the supermarket had a taste I could not exactly pinpoint. The taste is not gamey, it is quite bland and the meat is not quite as tender. Many people have told me that once I have gone grain-fed, it is hard to go back to *normal* chicken, whatever that means. I have to agree, in respect to taste.

By all means, it is important to know where your food comes from and how it was farmed. In Malaysia, you probably know that kampung chicken is best for boiling soups as they are thought to be better. It is not too far off since these chickens are actually free-range chickens, with no growth inducing chemicals and they run free until maturity, so indeed they are better!

Why is free-range better than standard chicken?

You will have your answer when you check out these links:
The news
The video
The Edinburgh research
The latest research
The survey

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