Winemaker
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
DW and I have been buying beef from the same local farmer since 1994. They are vaccinated and wormed but are grass fed until the last 6 weeks, where they begin eating corn produced by the same farmer, in a separate corral. We tried a few years forgoing the corn, and sticking with grass fed for the last 6 weeks. We were disappointed with the flavor, obviously because they were less marbled, and the flavor is in the fat.
When we bought hogs, they, too, were vaccinated and wormed. They were fed the "expired" produce from the local produce market and were never slopped. When hogs are slopped, they are required to receive antibiotics.
My sister and her husband raise chickens and we get some of their eggs. While they are somewhat free range, they have to be in a large coop to prevent them from becoming hawk, coyote and fox food. The USDA definition of free range does not give a time requirement that makes a chicken "free range", it just means that they have access to the outdoors. This may just mean an open window, which may be meaningless to a flightless bird.
When we bought hogs, they, too, were vaccinated and wormed. They were fed the "expired" produce from the local produce market and were never slopped. When hogs are slopped, they are required to receive antibiotics.
My sister and her husband raise chickens and we get some of their eggs. While they are somewhat free range, they have to be in a large coop to prevent them from becoming hawk, coyote and fox food. The USDA definition of free range does not give a time requirement that makes a chicken "free range", it just means that they have access to the outdoors. This may just mean an open window, which may be meaningless to a flightless bird.