| Neither |
Neither. I am vegetarian. - Nikki Botha
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| Bigger tastes better |
We sell three times as much JUMBO HENS (grain fed) as what we sell Collectively small-medium chickens free-range and grain. Taste means more to the consumer than price or feeding process. - Kevin
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| Chickens |
I have just bought free range chickens, and the taste is much better than the factory chickens, and that is a fact. - Cathy Kunniger
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| Taste is one thing.... |
...but how about the humane treatment of these creatures? Did anybody watch Jamie Oliver's documentary on BBC Food, he went through all aspects of chicken and egg farming and it was shocking yet extremely informative. I know this is not really within the scope of your article and my comment is not directed to the writer but the humane treatment of poultry should be a consideration that consumers keep firmly in mind when purchasing poultry products. Otherwise they are creating a market for the mass produced factory chickens. - Bob
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| Water |
I'll buy free range chickens, thanks.
If I wanted water with my roast chicken I would have made soup instead... - Dillon
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| Nonsense |
I can definitely taste and even smell a difference than the hormone infested garbage that is sold to us! - xp
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| RE: Cruelty |
I would like to think people would rather avoid the taste of cruelty completely. Either way, makes no difference to me, won't eat any dead flesh. - Lejane
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| Chickens |
I grew up on a farm eating free range chickens, then move to urban areas where the so called 'chicken pieces' are eaten. It is an undeniable fact that a free range chicken taste better than the factory-grown one. - Ndumiso
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| ... |
I will always buy free range anything if possible, couldn't care if it tastes better or not, more concerned about quality of life the animals experienced rather than spending its short life in a tiny cage in which it can't move. - Juz
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| Chickens |
Neither, I'm vegetarian, but if you really have to eat chicken, please go for truly
free-range! - Ingrid
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| Battery farmed chickens |
The issue of organic vs battery farmed chickens goes further than simply taste. For me the issue of a quality of life for the chickens vs an inhumane faming method. Even if the taste is still the same, I vote for the end of battery chickens! - Darryn
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| Vegitarians |
Vegetarians should keep the comments to themselves. You shouldn't be interested if they are free range or not, respect others for what they are. If they eat meat, then you should leave it as that. If you don't then you should respect yourself. - Veg
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| Fire the experts... |
...if they can't taste the difference they are plain stupid! The texture and colour of the meat also differs. - Jonny
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| The real issue |
The issue really isn't the taste, neither is it the way these chickens are handled, but rather, what they eat. Us humans are using our best weapon against diseases and viruses carelessly by feeding chickens it daily, especially in so called "factory" chicken farms. That is, antibiotics.
By consuming poultry that were fed with anti-biotics, viruses build up a resistance towards all sorts of harmful strains.
Fact: Over 70% of viruses are known to be resistant towards Penicillin today, compared to 4% in the '60s. Mostly due to "Organic Chicken Diet"... - frikkie
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| chickens |
Must admit that ever since watching Chicken Run my taste for poultry has vanished. I only buy free range eggs though, can't stand the thought of those small cages... - taurus
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| FREE RANGE BIRDS |
I cannot believe how quick this whole free range epidemic has hit South Africa. All of a sudden everybody wants free range meat and poultry. I truly believe the author of the article and will challenge any of the other people that have said that free range tastes better, they have got no idea what they are taking about, do yourselves a favour and do a cook off with both types of chicken and let people taste, you will be truly surprised. - Luigi
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| STOP KEEPING BIRDS IN BATTERIES |
It is really cruel to keep chickens in conditions where they cannot be free to run around and breed, they can still be dewormed before marketing, but as a vegetarian i am hoping the world will see it is cruel to eat any animals and kill the young of animals in order to gain the milk and by products under these conditions. They have feelings too. - MOIRA
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| Very few of you read the article |
If the chicken is older and/or bigger it will have more flavour. Free range chickens are older/bigger. Its the nature of free range. Very few chickens carcasses are from batteries. They stay in pens. Batteries hens are older and bigger. (Cornish) Batteries chickens will have the best flavour. Penicillin has never worked against a virus Frikkie. Penicillin works against bacteria. - Andrew
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| Tastes Better and more humane |
I agree with Dillon, they definitely plump up the battery hens with water. Which panel of "experts" did they get? Free range definitely tastes better. I'd also really like to know if Kauai uses free range chicken for the products based on chicken meat. I see a lot of advertising from them regarding the eggs being free range but what about the meat? I truly healthy person wouldn't want a sick bird pumped with hormones in a filthy cage, often sitting next to other rotting dead chickens. - Sheree
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| Free Range/Grain Feed/Battery |
Of course you can taste the difference. The experts should try again.
The chickens in Battery's are fed fish meal, you can smell and taste the fish meal when you cook the chicken. I am allergic to fish so have to always ask when going out if the chicken served is Free Range/Grain fed and also what type of stock is used in sauces. One restaurant told me "Oh yes our chicken is Free Range" - well they ended up calling an ambulance to take me to hospital. I also only buy Free Range/Grain Fed eggs. - Allergic
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| Taste is not the point |
The point is, that factory farmed chickens never see the light of day, while free range chickens have the choice to be outside during the day, doing normal 'chicken' things. Then again, they all get killed in the end. - Atti
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| Free range is meatier |
An animal that has been allowed to run around rather than sit in a cage its whole life will develop better muscle definition. It is very difficult to find big chickens which are not free range - but please don't mix up free range with organic. Organic chickens have not been fed hormones/antibiotics. This is not necessarily the case with free range. - DW
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| Dodgy experts! |
Can't agree with these experts findings. It's quite obvious from smell, taste and texture that Free Range is different to Battery. On occasion that I've unwittingly eaten battery I've actually had to ask if the meat is not possibly off! I think Battery farmers might be getting scared that Free Range is beginning to eat into their profits ... - Pete
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| Serial Killer Mind Set |
Factory Farms are sick and evil and no long arduous protestations can or will change that. - Eden
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| Natural/Organic Nonsense |
Interesting to see an article on food24 that for once is backed up by a scientific trial! In a world (and country) increasingly obsessed with quackery such as homeopathy, iridology, reflexology and organic food it really makes me laugh when I witness the denialism evident amongst the health crowd readers here.. The whole point of a double blind test is to get an unbiased result, something I truly doubt many of you are interested in. - Andy
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| Who are these experts? |
Are we to believe the experts in the article. Who are they and where do they come from. What institutions do "they" represent. Lastly what is an expert these days.
Ignore what these "experts" say because they don't know what they are talking about. The public out there is not stupid anymore. We all have access to the information superhighway. This is chicken propaganda!
By free range it tastes better. - Christoph
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| Free the Chicken! |
I keep my own chickens. They are free to roam where they want and at night they roost in trees around the house. They are grain fed but they scratch around all day looking for natural foods like insects and plants. The difference between factory and free is definitely huge. I also never medicate, factory farm chickens get sick because they live in their own poop and are in such miserable living conditions.
My philosophy is that if you havent got the nerve or skill to properly slaughter and prepare an animal yourself you shouldnt be buying ones that factory farms do for you! - Mike
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| Chicken spice |
I also have my doubts about the taste buds of the four food experts. How were the chicken dishes prepared?
Maybe they used chicken spice in all the dishes. In that case all will taste the same! Maybe food experts can be fooled but definitely not consumers. By the way, chicken spice is a necessity these days when you cook chicken. - Kaolin
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| Jody Scheckter |
Jody Scheckter, doing research for his organic farming enterprise, went to a "Free Range" chicken farm. Out of thousands of chicken 5 or 10 where outsider there hatches. The rest never came out. "Free Range" ??? - Klaus Walter
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| Freerange def better |
Go and get a free range at Woolworths, and a normal one at Checkers, roast them together, and come and then tell me they taste the same. Free range certainly have a lot more meat on them, and stay that size when you cook them - these hormone fed meat stuffs shrink to about half the size when you cook it - just water that comes out. - Paul
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| Its about their life, not taste |
Taste is besides the point. It is about the sheer cruelty that goes on behind the scenes. I buy free range eggs only for this reason. Taste is irrelevant. - Karen
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| not sure why test makes a difference |
Anyone with a conscience, if they eat meat would be sensitised to the fact that, if you are a meat eater, for me the point is, the value of the animals life, how they live is very importance, as well as the transference of that traumatised energy digested by you... - Vee
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| No true |
Those 'experts' were not fed real free range chickens otherwise they would have noticed the HUGE difference.
Free range all the way. - thuleleni
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|
Modern so-called free range chickens are not truly free to range. They are crammed by the thousands into huge sheds and live upon their own excrement for their entire lives. They are never allowed to bask in the sun or to choose what to eat. They are fed growth hormones to shorten the time that they are maintained. They are given antibiotics whether they are sick or not. All of this remains in the meat and, imho, affects those that eat the meat by causing resistance to antibiotics and abnormal growth. - CooP
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| Lejane |
Please read what you have written,you don't eat dead flesh, so do you eat live flesh? - Fairychild
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| Free Range or Not |
I have found that the Free Range Chickens have more meat, less fat and taste better, and I have compared prices and at the end of the day if you want value for money than I must say that Free Range Chicken is better. I can't believe that people could not taste the difference as I can because you will find that the chicken is not active so it will also be more fatty. Glad to see there are others that do agree that Free Range is the way to go. - Ruth
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| taste bud failure |
Seems like there has to be a problem with some of readers taste buds. Because free range definitely does not taste better.. except if you you call tougher less juicer and a more rubbery taste better. then yes free range is better. - joe
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| Daft comments |
Blind testing has shown that Batch is actually better. I do agree with the results and I find the sites users to be bias. I do not how-ether agree this is right but facts are facts. Please accept this. Rather than shun me. My response is backed up with facts but I do agree it is morally wrong full stop. - Jim
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