When it comes to feeding your family, not all food is equal and even within food groups, not all labels are treated equally. For example, when we talk about chicken, there are abundant labels that mean different things. “Natural” simply means that no artificial ingredients have been added, but it says nothing about where or how the chicken was raised.
“Free Range” means the hens had access to the outdoors for at least part of the day, but that tells you nothing about what it’s fed or what farming practices may be used. “Cage free” chickens are raised in an open enclosure, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the chicken has enough space to move or that it is treated humanely. “Farm raised” is a label that means absolutely nothing- all chickens are raised on a farm and generally, this nomenclature is meant to conjure images of green pastures, but mostly is just a sales ploy.