Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Sheds Some Much Needed Light On The Broiler Chick
Filed under: animals, campaigns, food & drink, green and famous, shopping — Michael Parrish DuDell @ 11:05 am
January 10th 2008
As Ecorazzi reported previously, some of the UK’s top celebrity chefs like Jaime Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, are getting involved to help spread the news about the dastardly poultry market that dominates their country. Now, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is taking it one step further with his Chicken Out campaign.
The Chicken Out campaign attempts to educate the British consumer on the plight of the broiler chicken who is often reared without light or proper space for the sake of mass production. In fact, there are 850 million chickens reared in the UK each year, but only a pathetic five percent are free range, and even less than that get the organic seal of approval. Whittingstall hopes to improve those numbers.
As you can imagine, The National Farming Union isn’t overly excited about Whittingstall’s attempts, saying, “Hugh’s Chicken Run could increase confusion among consumers” and that “we would prefer it if consumers were able to make an informed choice.”
I mean how to you want me to sum this one up, kiddies? I’m overwhelmed here. Of course as a person who is greatly concerned with the welfare of our planet and the rights of all animals I think Whittingstall actions are incredibly noble, but I know that not everybody shares my views. I think (or hope) most of us can agree that when we have the choice to buy a product that’s a little cruel or very cruel, we’d always choose the former. To me, this attempt is an example of real progress, and I so respect Whittingstall for trying to change the world one plate at a time.
Boy, have you stirred up a hornet’s nest!! At least I’m with you all the way, even if Axminster isn’t.
Nothing happens overnight, but gradually people will be revulsed by what they see happening- THEN the Supermarkets will have to change policy and prices will follow and THEN this barbaric practice will stop. I salute your courage.
This is brilliant news! Jamie Oliver is also in hot water for exposing the horrible cruelty that chicken folk go through in order to give us eggs and their little bodies to be fed. He actually electrocuted a chicken on TV, something I wouldn’t watch and in normal cases would never condone but as Paul McCartney said “If abbatoirs had glass walls no one would eat meat!”. I’ve seen a huge change even in the last five years regarding eggs. In the old days all the eggs in supermarkets were the stock standard grey boxed eggs, average, dull yolk eggs, without any vim or vigor. I always shopped in markets or health food shops for free range/organic, knowing that the chooks were happy little people. Now the old grey ones are at the end of aisles and mostly (in Australia anyway) all eggs are ‘chook friendly’ in one way or another, endorsed by RSPCA, organic, free range or barn laid. I’m happy with the way the world is becoming more caring for the creatures that we take for granted to give us food. Thanks for the article!
Thank YOU for rocking free range and organic!
There was’nt any free range chickens on the shelf at Tesco’s this mornign. We were told they had only sold 3 more this week, but if they hadnt any on the shelves how could we buy them. Other people were looking for them as well. Keep up the good work, As a family we are all in support of you.
called into our local tesco store yesterday (BURY LANCS). Went to buy freerange chicken ;but guess what ,all sold out just packets of breast available, I think hues campaign is working nation wide.
all the chickens were sold out in our super market as well (yeovil)