I saw this ad appealing for free range pigs on the tram to work recently. 'You are Our Hope' is a campaign funded by Animals Australia*. You would need a heart of stone not to be at least a little moved and think a bit more about the welfare of your food sources. Bred freerange pork products are currently so hard to find. Chicken and eggs on the other hand is fairly easy. Hopefully this campaign will raise enough awareness to create demand and lead to happier Aussie piggies. Coles has committed to making its fresh pork products sow stall free. Use this link to appeal to the other major food retailers to do the same.
Admittedly you do have to be selective/educated about which freerange eggs you buy. I owe it to the Epicure section from The Age earlier this year for my knowledge:
Some are actually barn laid with access to outdoors through an opening too small to allow but a few chooks through in a day. Others have their beaks trimmed whether they need it or not, and in some cases this is done so severely that other farmers have described it as debeaking. Beak trimming is only acceptable where other measures to deal with pecking order issues are unsuccessful, and even then it must be professionally done.
Further reading:
http://www.greenwashreport.org/node/74
I hadn't previously been successful finding them, because the Epicure print article didn't have the logo included but now I know what to look for:
http://www.freerangefarmers.com.au/
*yes they are a vegan promoting bunch but listen to what they have to say in this campaign, if nothing else.
