Fast food with a conscience

The Mad Mex chain of Mexican fast food (tacos and the like) has started using RSPCA-approved barn chickens, after a trial in its Belconnen mall and NSW stores this year. “Chicken is one of the most intensely farmed animals in Australia, so the switch to a higher welfare option will ensure that the 2.5 million chicken meals sold at Mad Mex are more responsibly sourced,” the chain says. It uses Freedom Farms barn chickens, grown in sheds with “wire mesh sides and adjustable shutters or curtains” to allow air and light in. Freedom Farms chickens have 20 to 30 per cent more space to move around than required for conventionally farmed chickens, it says (which doesn’t sound a major leap forward in wing space).