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For every pound of chicken meat produced, 5 pounds of greenhouse gasses are emitted. Three-quarters of that comes from commercial poultry feed—mostly cereal grains that require huge amounts of nitrogen fertilizers and water. Because free range birds have a more varied diet, it theoretically can lessen the impact, but they’re also allowed to live longer than their industrial cousins, so overall they consume more food. The other thing that drives researchers crazy is that there’s no uniform definition of “free range.” To be used on a carton of eggs, the USDA requires only that the hens have “continuous access to...

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