How to Make Sure You’re Buying Quality Chicken

Thank you Perdue® for sponsoring this post.

In the grand scheme, how important is the happiness of a chicken, who lives only for 12 weeks or so?

I feel like the answer “it matters to the chicken” is a pretty good one.

I won’t lie, sometimes budget takes precedence over other factors, and I feel like that’s all part of balanced stewardship, but we do our best to buy responsibly and humanely raised chicken.

So, how do you make sure you’re buying quality chicken?

So, how do you make sure you’re buying quality chicken?

• Do Your Research. Before you go to the grocery store, do a little research into chicken brands. I’ve found that Perdue® really shines in animal welfare commitment. Perdue charts its animal care progress against a globally accepted standard for animal husbandry, “The Five Freedoms:”

1. Freedom from hunger and thirst
2. Freedom from discomfort
3. Freedom from pain, injury or disease
4. Freedom to express normal behaviors
5. Freedom from fear and distressThey work hard to be more forward-thinking in raising chickens for food and creating a set of best practices that consumers can feel good about. Little things like access to clean water , and a low stress environment make a huge difference in the life of a chicken, and in turn, the quality of the meat.

• Look for the “No Antibiotics” label. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to ingest second hand antibiotics. Here again, Perdue stands out. Perdue is so committed to animal welfare that they recently hosted their 3rd Annual Animal Care Summit on July 11 and 12 of this year, and brought together animal care experts and advocates, customers, farmers, and Perdue leadership for an open and transparent dialogue about advancements in animal care. Not only that, but Perdue welcomes consumers to review its progress in animal care and its plans going forward.
• And finally, when you go to the store look for yellow skin, and plump, pink flesh. Of course, your breasts will be light pink, while the thighs and legs will be darker pink with some white or yellow fat.

Does the way a chicken was raised really impact the final product? According to chef Michale Lewis, the more humanely they’re raised, less stress they endure, and the more pristine their meat will be.

And the better you’ll feel about what you put on the table.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.