Well all of this seems to come down to whether 'free-range' is worth anything or not. You have both stated that it isn't, but I would very much like to see some concrete evidence for that. Convince me that free range farming is no better than battery farming.
If we are not going to use 'free range' as an 'approved' label for restaurants, then we would need something appropriate to replace it with - and that means a credible alternative farming standard that is widely recognised.