The Atlantic - Why Free-Range Meat Isn't Much Better Than Factory-Farmed

By James McWilliams
December 7, 2010

"Like many people who pay attention to how food is produced, I've come to abhor factory farming and the environmental and welfare problems that accompany it. My personal choice to eliminate factory-farmed animal products from my diet largely reflects this abhorrence. Where I break from most conscientious consumers is in my decision to avoid meat from free-range animals and other alternative sources. This position hasn't won any popularity contests for me. My occasional critiques of free-range animal farming have led to, among other things, threats by a butcher to separate me from a particularly valued appendage as well as frequent charges that I'm a hired gun for agribusiness. Both concepts are equally difficult to contemplate...."

http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/12/why-free-range-meat-isnt-much-better-than-factory-farmed/67569/