ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip

July 3rd 2008

Celebrity Chefs Oliver and Fearnley-Whittingstall Receive Award From RSPCA

Filed under: animals, campaigns, food & drink, honors — parrish @ 8:48 am

More news on the celebrity chef front! For the last few months Ecorazzi has kept you abreast on all the chicken reform that’s taking place in the UK. Together, celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have worked hard to spotlight the plight of food animals and change the way chickens are treated. So to say thanks a million, the RSCPA presented the chefs with an award for their efforts earlier this week.

Jamie and Hugh have both been strong supporters of the RSPCA’s Freedom Foods scheme – an initiative that guarantees animals have been raised on farms that meet the organization’s standards. They’ve also both produced television documentaries to shed light on the truth about factory farming and help improve the welfare of animals. 

Jamie and Hugh received the honors at the organization’s AGM in London earlier this week. A rep from the RSPCA said: “We are delighted to present both Hugh and Jamie with these awards in recognition of their valuable ongoing work in this area,” said Dr Marc Cooper, RSPCA senior farm animal scientist. “We look forward to carrying on our partnership with the chefs and hope that with their support, the revolution in raising chicken welfare standards throughout the UK will continue.”

Congrats and keep up the good work fellas!

thanks: looktothestars.org

June 18th 2008

Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall Lobbies Against Tesco’s Cruelty

Filed under: animals, campaigns, food & drink, shopping — parrish @ 1:39 pm

For the past year or so Ecorazzi has kept you abreast on the food reform initiative that’s taking place in the UK. Celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have all been deeply involved with raising the bar on animal welfare.

A couple months ago Ecorazzi reported news that Jamie Oliver had convinced Tesco (a popular Brittish supermarket) to double their order of premium chickens, bringing the proportion of higher welfare chickens to about 30 percent of total poultry sales-an increase of 70 percent from this time last year. However, Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall doesn’t think that’s enough and claims that Tesco is serverely lagging in animal welfare issues. Wittingstall is urging Tesco to adopt the RSPCA’s higher standards on chicken or drop its claims that it fulfils the government’s aspirations on animal welfare. And this chef ain’t just whistling dixie!

Wittingstall has received official support from the PIRC, the corporate governance adviser, and will be recommending its members to vote in favor of his special resolution at Tesco’s annual meeting next week. For all you Ecorazzi readers that live abroad, you have the chance to watch Hugh tonight on Channel 4’s River Cottage Spring program as he speaks about the benefit of using free range and organic chickens.

I think it’s safe to say that whatever your dietary choice might be, everyone would agree that no animal deserves to be the subject of cruelty and torture. So if you do choose to eat meat, spend the extra buck or two and purchase the more humanely treated variety — it’s healthier, happier and all around more environmentally sound. Don’t believe me? Just ask Hugh.

via: business.timesonline.co.uk

June 1st 2008

Jamie Oliver Suffocates Baby Chicks On Cooking Show

Filed under: animals, food & drink — michael @ 9:03 am

There is a certain degree of frankness found in British media and PSAs that one would probably be shocked to experience here in the U.S. I discovered this first hand while living in New Zealand and being completely bowled over by their drunk driving commercials. Needless to say, they get to the point — and do not skimp on the horrors of such accidents.  

Anyways, the reason I’m drawing these parallels is because of a demonstration that Jamie Oliver put on a few months back as part of his efforts to reveal the brutal practices of Britain’s poultry and egg industry. 

During his cooking show Jamie’s Fowl Dinners, the famous naked chef amused guests by revealing some baby chicks as the centerpiece for their tables. After some instruction, he then asked those sitting at the table to remove the males from the females and place them in a box. As Jamie points out, since male chicks do not lay eggs, they are expendable and ultimately culled by the industry. 

In front of his now stunned guests, Oliver then shows how the chicks are killed. It’s not an easy thing to watch — but for those of us that eat meat, it begs the question then of “Why do we do it?”.

I really wish American television had such revealing programming. We could all definitely use more education on factory farming — and what exactly happens behind-the-scenes before arriving on our dinner plates.

Bravo, Jamie and the BBC. 

The video is available after the jump by clicking here…

February 28th 2008

Will Celebrity Chefs Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall And Jamie Oliver Go Veg?

Filed under: animals, campaigns, food & drink, green and famous, thegreenpicture — parrish @ 10:27 am

I think it’s safe to say that Ecorazzi has led the way in covering all the “chicken drama” going on in the UK.  In the past, we’ve given props to Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for their relentless efforts in improving the lives of slaughterhouse animals. But now can they take it a step further?

Celebrity Chef’s, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver have been challenged by Animal Aid, a UK based animal rights organization, to go Veg for one month. 

A spokesman for Animal Aid said:

“Animal Aid was encouraged by the recent campaigns by the high-profile chef, which exposed the terrible plight of farmed animals. However, the chef’s attempts to alleviate animal suffering by promoting ‘high welfare’ production systems can only ever have a marginal impact on their welfare and does not mean the consumer can rest easy. This is why the national campaign group has challenged celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to try the veggie diet for a week or a month.”
 

No word yet on whether the twosome will be putting down the mean and picking up the bean, but I sure hope they at least try it.  I’ve been vegan for almost 7 years and it is BY FAR one of the proudest decisions of my life. Plus, not only will they feel the difference, but eating in a new way can only diversify their cooking knowledge and make them stronger chefs.

If you’re teetering on the Fence O’ Veg (it’s made from soy) visit GoVeg.com and get a free vegetarian starter kit.  It’s way easier than you think. I promise!

February 13th 2008

British Supermarket Tesco Doubles Order For Free-Range Chickens

Filed under: animals, campaigns, food & drink, green and famous, healthy living, products, shopping, thegreenpicture — parrish @ 1:28 pm

I think it’s safe to say that Ecorazzi has been relentless in covering all the chicken drama going on in Britian. In case you haven’t been reading (shame on you), here’s the low down on the down low:

A bunch of celebrity chefs were sick of all the piss poor conditions that most chickens are forced to endure. So, they decided to go VERY public with their concern, asking supermarkets and consumers to raise the bar on poultry standards. Jamie Oliver talked some trash and got in a little trouble with Sainsbury’s, but at the end of the day, the large grocery retailer agreed to adopt higher standards, so it was all kind of worth it. However, every time we’d write a story about the “premium” British chickens (do they have cool accents?), we’d get tons of comments that they were all sold out. Well here’s some good news:

The British supermarket, Tesco, has just doubled their order for premium chickens!!! This will bring the proportion of higher welfare chicken to about 30 percent of total chicken sales-an increase of 70 per cent from this time last year. What’s also great is that the media is acknowledging the fact that the crew of celebrity chefs had everything to do with the rise in awareness. You guys…THIS IS AWESOME!!

Now even though I don’t eat chicken (go vegans) and even though I’ve never been out of the country (go ignorant Americans), I’m basically flapping my wings over the fact that things seem to be getting better. My personal thanks to Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for seriously stepping to the plate and really making a difference. Now British readers, it’s up you! If you’re a meat-eater, visit Tesco this week and let Ecorazzi know if “premium” chickens are back in stock. If not, I’ll just have to finally get a passport and go abroad for some undercover Ecorazzi reporting.

photo credit: famouschicken.com

February 8th 2008

The Naked Chef’s Solar Home Up For Sale

Scooter not included.

Filed under: buildings and construction — michael @ 4:21 pm

The home that was made famous by the first season of Jamie Oliver’s wildly successful cooking show, The Naked Chef, is now up for sale.

Besides the kitchen, which would obviously be the main draw, it also features the recognizable spiral staircase, five plasma screens (including a waterproof screen in the spa bathroom), fiber optic mood lighting, gym, bespoke kitchen, an integral garage, and solar panels. It should be noted that the above amenities were not in place while Oliver lived there. After the first season, him and his wife Jules moved out and the BBC revamped the entire property to include more living space.

We have no idea what the output on these solar panels is — but knowing Oliver and his commitment to green energy, they should be lopping off a bit from the utility bill.  Fancy a bid? Hit the link for more information.

January 16th 2008

Does Jamie Oliver Have Egg On His Face Over Sainsbury’s Comments?

Filed under: animals, food & drink, green and famous — parrish @ 11:28 am

As Ecorazzi reported earlier, a few masters of the British cuisine (if you can call English food, cuisine…I joke) have been doing their part to shed light on the horrible realities of factory farming.  And now it looks like Mr. Jamie Oliver has caused quite the stir.  

The details of this whole thing are pretty confusing, so let me try and break it down for you 3rd grade style (get out your Lisa Frank pencil bag). Ok, so Jamie Oliver has been very vocal about the fact he thinks the way animals (specifically chickens) are raised and killed for food is inhumane (which it is).  Now, Jamie is also the spokesperson for Sainsbury’s, which has strongly promoted its ethical credentials with animals and hired Oliver as proof of their commitment to quality.  Sainsbury’s and Oliver had been working well together…UNTIL last week when Sainsbury’s failed to attend a debate on Oliver’s show regarding the welfare of chickens.  In response to their lack of attendance, Oliver said, “I am really upset. The question is why didn’t they come? What is there to hide? It is shocking the people I work for didn’t turn up.”

Well, those comments basically freaked Sainsbury’s the hell out and sent them into total panic mode, publishing advertisements in newspapers to try and save their “nice guy” image.  THEN, ALL OF A SUDDEN!!!!!! Oliver sent a letter to 150,000 Sainsbury’s employees saying that his comments were taken out of context and that, “Sainsbury’s has the most to be proud of on this important animal welfare issue”.  So now everyone’s thinking, “Whoa, Jamie Oliver is a total pushover, blah, blah blah.” 

BUT WAIT!!! Oliver only released the letter after a private phone call with Justin King, the CEO of Sainsbury’s, and just a few days after that meeting, Sainsbury’s announced they would be moving away from industry standards in chicken production and adopting those of the RSPCA’s Freedom Foods. The RSPCA’s status includes requirements that chickens must grow slower, can’t be genetically bred, get more room for exercise, and that they are allowed a “proper night time period” of six hours to rest.

So, that’s the whole story! Damn, that was exhausting!  Some people are saying this whole mess is just one big embarrassment for Oliver, but I think he made the right move by putting pressure on Sainsbury’s to take the next step for happier, healthier poultry. Jamie, I’ve never been out of the states, but if I ever make it to Britain I will totally volunteer my time to help you fight the good fight!! ROCK ON!!!!

story via: marketingweek

December 20th 2007

The Green Picture: UK’s Top Chefs Pull Back Curtain On Chicken Farms

Filed under: food & drink, thegreenpicture — michael @ 10:20 am

The UK’s Channel 4 is getting ready for a season of programming on eating healthy and informing people where processed food comes from; including the horrible conditions present in factory chicken farms and other operations. Helping them along the way are chefs Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

You can read more about the effort in a past post here. To put aside any differences, the three were sent into the woods to perform some team building exercises and shoot a trailer for the series. What follows in the video is some hilarious tongue-in-cheek humor that’s worth a look.

For more information on the series, jump here.