Chicken run

WHY did the chicken cross the road? Because it was a free-range chicken and could go wherever it wanted.  

OK, not the greatest punch line. And in truth, free-range chickens are no freer than other chickens; it's just that they're allowed to move about in a tightly controlled outdoor facility and scratch for food, instead of being confined their whole lives. They eat the same foods that cooped chickens eat. They are not necessarily happier. They are no leaner. They are no healthier. They are, however, younger because they are slaughtered earlier and thus may be more tender. However, they are not less likely to be contaminated with Salmonella. They mostly just cost more.