Why is "wild" or "free range" meat/fish tastier than "farm-raised"?!
Why is "wild" or "free range" meat/fish tastier than "farm-raised"?
Two questions, really: (1) is it true? (everyone says it is, but have there been objective studies to this effect?), and (2) if it is indeed true, then why?
Additional Details4 weeks ago
Two questions, really: (1) is it true? (everyone says it is, but have there been objective studies to this effect?), and (2) if it is indeed true, then why? I am most interested in objective studies that have been done on this topic, not subjective opinions. Thanks!!
Answers:
4 weeks ago
Two questions, really: (1) is it true? (everyone says it is, but have there been objective studies to this effect?), and (2) if it is indeed true, then why? I am most interested in objective studies that have been done on this topic, not subjective opinions. Thanks!!
I can answer for aquaculture species of fish, so keeping to the point(s) I would answer that it depends on the type of farm-raised fish in question.
For example oysters, clams and scallops raised in shellfish farms would taste exactly the same as their "wild" counterparts. The all eat the same algae and live in the same salinity water. One advantage (in flavor) that farmed shellfish have is that they are processed very quickly after harvesting rather than sitting in a boat for hours after harvest and before they are processed for markets. Sometimes the delay can cause off-flavors in shellfish.
There are some flavor studies being conducted at NC State University Seafood Laboratory. The studies compare farm-raised hybrid striped bass with wild but also compare the quality changes in fish over time.
Salmon are farmed in pens and fed a formulated diet. They don't get the exact same nutrients in their feed as wild salmon get. However, wild salmon may be kept days on a ship before being processed and sold; they may pick up some off-flavors. Farmed salmon are quickly killed and processed to capture the maximum flavor and quality.
Catfish are grown in ponds and the water quality is strictly controlled. However, the nutrient rich water in catfish ponds tends to cause algae blooms which can impart a musty or earthy off-flavor to the fish so they are always taste tested before the pond is harvested and marketed. This is ironic because wild catfish always had a reputation for being muddy tasting.
Farm-raised shrimp are fed a diet that closely resembles the wild food in nutritional value. The shrimp are chilled and processed very quickly after harvesting from ponds, which is quite different from shrimp boats that harvest wild shrimp. Wild shrimp may be chilled on ice but sometimes there are several days before the catch is landed and processed for markets; that in itself can give the shrimp an ammonia-type of off-flavor.
Well, that's my take on it. I hope this helps; Good luck!
Source(s):
http://main2.carteret.edu/~kemps/...
this is a great college aquaculture program
It is not necessarily "tastier" although it is certainly different from farm-raised product. It's all a matter of your personal taste as it were.
I have had turkey that was free-range that was quite flavourful and others that were dry and had no flavour.
I think it is a matter of choice health conscience vs not. 2 The wild or free range feed on what is natural to them at the rate they want to eat. Farm raised are pretty much overfed to get them to market faster and some are given hormones to make them produce milk and get bigger faster. Hope I helped.Also wild and free range do not have any additives unless somehow they picked some chemical up from the grasses the were eating.
It's true and it's due to the wider variety of food eaten by the free range animals.
well, it's considered organic.... I think it is true, but i know a lot of people can't tell the difference. I'm sure there has been some kind of study... somewhere and i don't know why its true. maybe its not true for some people... like i said i can taste the difference, but just because i can doesn't mean other people can too.
I would guess and say it is true(I can't afford to get that type of meat, that is why I am guessing:P), and the reason is that the animals are eating their natural diet(believe it or not, but cows, and some other animals we raise for meat, do not eat as much grains, silage and slop as we give them when we raise them for food).
EXCUSE ME!!...BORIS P....I am KERBAUCHARD!!!!!
all you need to know sir is that I am a son of a sailor...dont make me tell you that I'm a soldier....words.. like "Wild".."Free"..and "Meat" will not be tolerated in the Vegan Forum...show some respect...earthling!
Humans...... When things are farm raised, humans are involved. When humans are involved, thats when you start getting all the hormone injections, antibiotics, and unnatural environment. Where as if something is wild caught, or free range, it is generally coming from its natural environment. These animals have led heathier lives, and in my opinion are tastier. I am a Semi vegetarian, who only eats wild caught seafood.
Why did you ask in the veggie section? We dont eating rotting dead animals no matter how they are farmed or raised.
Why would you expect vegetarians to know the answer to this question? Vegetarians don't eat any sort of meat - farm raised or not!
So, the answer is, there is no answer. There is no way to prove "tastier"!
Once again, proof that smarter children grow up to be vegetarians. http://health.yahoo.com/news/170005;_ylt...
Why are you asking about meat taste in the vegetarian section??
Here are some links to infomation on fishing and fish farming..
http://www.goveg.com/ (for general factory farm cruelty)
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/animals... (fish farms)
http://www.peta.org.uk/pdfs/fishing%20hu... (fishing for sport)
http://www.nofishing.net/ (fish cruelty)
http://www.fishinghurts.com/fishfarms.as... (fish farms)