We have a small farm, and I'm also a professor of wildlife and forest ecology at a huge midwestern university. Factory-farming methods are appalling--except for broiler chickens. Laying hens are abused quite horribly in factory farm conditions, but broilers are treated in factory farm conditions pretty much the same way they're treated on free-range farm (they have a huge hoop house with lots of straw bedding, and they run around in flocks until it's time to eat them. Not a bad life for a flocking creature.) So I'll buy supermarket chicken meat, but no other meat from supermarkets. Instead, buy locally.

If you're in North America and you go to www.eatwild.com you can find great local sources of grass-fed, free range meat. Buying grass-fed, free-range, humanely treated meat directly from the small farm usually costs less than buying nasty meat at the supermarket. Support your local humane farmers! And eat great food in the process. Get a freezer cheap from craigslist so you can always have a supply of good meat from the local farm.

And best of all, grow your own little garden, get a small flock of laying hens, feed them the garden scraps and your own food scraps, compost the chicken manure, return it to your garden for more food, and create a self-sustaining cycle. Laying hens make great pets, and many towns now allow a small flock in your town garden. Plus the eggs taste a million times better than any supermarket egg.