Why serve Humane Food?

Consumers are driving the change for humane food. People want to know how their food is produced and increasingly they are finding inhumane farming systems unacceptable. By choosing wisely and serving higher welfare products, you are giving your customers what they want.

When looking for humane food it's important to look for products certified by an independent body, like the RSPCA.

EGGS

Eggs are produced by hens living in a cage (battery farming), in a barn or free range.

Cage eggs come from hens housed in battery cages. A battery cage is made of welded wire and metal and will usually house 3-5 birds, giving each bird less space than an A4 piece of paper. The small size of cages means that birds are unable to turn around easily, stretch out, flap their wings or exercise. The floor of the cage slopes down to the front so that the eggs roll away out of the cage. The hens have access to food troughs and water drinkers.

In newer systems, cages are stacked in several tiers, one above the other, inside a climate-controlled shed. The shed may contain as many as 100,000 birds. Older systems have cages in a single tier in sheds with natural ventilation. Modern sheds have automated egg and manure collection systems; in older sheds this is carried out manually.

Importantly, cages do not satisfy the hen's behavioural need to perch, dust bathe, forage, and lay their eggs in a secluded nest.

Barn-laid eggs come from hens housed in a large barn or shed, which contains nest boxes, feeders and drinkers. Some barns have around one-third of the floor space covered with litter that allows for scratching and dust bathing. Barn-housed hens have the freedom to move around, stretch, flap their wings and socialise, they are also able to lay their eggs in a secluded nest, a behavioural priority for all hens. Flocks may be small (500 birds) or large (5000 birds or more). RSPCA Approved barn systems include perching facilities and litter for dustbathing and hens are kept at a lower stocking density than conventional barns.

Free-range eggs come from hens that have access to an outdoor area during the day. At night, large flocks of free-range hens are kept in sheds or barns that have similar features to those for barn-housed hens. Smaller flocks may be housed in moveable sheds to allow rotational use of the range area.

CHICKEN

In Australia, most meat chickens (broilers) are farmed in large sheds holding around 40,000 chickens. Conventional meat chickens are kept in barren conditions with little room to move as the bird reaches slaughter weight. After years of selective breeding this can be as early as 35 days old. The birds fast growth can lead to leg, joint, bone and heart problems or sudden death.

The RSPCA believes meat chickens can be raised in an indoor facility, such as a barn, as long as their physical and behavioural needs are met. This includes room to move freely, forage, dustbath and exhibit their natural behaviours.

Free-range chicken meat comes from chickens that have access to an outdoor area during the day. At night, the birds are kept in sheds or barns. Conditions on free-range farms vary greatly. On some farms, the range are is large, provides grass for foraging, has access to shade and shelter, and the birds are able to come and go from the range during the day.

PORK

Most pigs in Australia will never set foot outdoors. They can't root in the dirt, wallow in the mud or forage for food. Most breeding sows in Australia are confined in sow stalls for all or part of their pregnancy then are moved to an even smaller, farrowing crate, until their piglets are weaned. Pigs farmed in these systems suffer through a continuous cycle of chronic frustration.

Free-range pork comes from pigs that were born and raised with free access to the outdoors. That is, where the sows and growing piglets have access to paddocks, as well as huts or other forms of housing for shelter, and are not confined to sow stalls or farrowing crates. 'Bred free-range pork' refers to products from pigs that were born in a free-range environment but were subsequently raised indoors. The welfare of pigs in this system can be just as good as free-range, as long as their physical and behavioural needs are met.