I’m agnostic, because under-informed, about whether “free-range” meat would result in higher meat prices than the factory farmed variety once you’ve taken into account all the hidden costs. But Paul Roberts, author of The End of Oil and The End of Food, contends that, even under the best circumstances, making the (necessary) switch to free-range alternatives will result in higher prices.

Creating more humane conditions for farm animals is just the right thing to do, and if that means we have to pay higher prices (or eat less meat), we would simply be returning to the norm that prevailed for most of human history. Cheap, plentiful meat is an anomaly, not a necessity for living a full, satisfying human life. (But then, I would say that, wouldn’t I?)

(Link via Erik Marcus)