Tastes Like Happy Chicken

For some people, the only kind chopped up chicken they'll buy is the kind that was "free-range."

The feeling is that the chicken lived a good life, not one of confined cruelty.

Which is why I guess it seems better to eat eggs from chickens who were able to stretch their legs a bit. And apparently the chickens who get to run around as they please are healthier and therefore offer us a healthier food.

But the question I have is ...

If the chicken is happy, shouldn't we in fact feel bad for killing it? It's the non-free-rangers whose lives suck. Shouldn't we be doing all we can to put those poor, miserable animals out of their misery?

Everytime I see that green-colored label, I just can't help but think that I wasted the life of a perfectly happy chicken.