Food of the Week: Pasture-raised chicken

Enjoy Pasture-Raised Chicken This Week

We recommend organic, pasture-raised chicken whenever possible because studies have found that while "organic" addresses the reduction in the use of herbacides, pesticides, antibiotics and hormones in chicken feed, pasture-raising was directly linked to the increased health quality of the meat. Researchers at the University of Perugia in Perugia, Italy found that while organic standards - all by themselves - were sufficient to increase the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in breast meat obtained from the chickens, it took more than organic standards to improve the breast meat in two other important respects: increase in total antioxidant nutrients and decrease in risk of oxidative damage to fats in the meat.