Hugh's Chicken Run............. - Page 2

pressld2 · #26 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coasty

Incidentally I have done blind taste tests and couldnt always spot free range from intensive. So the selling point of taste is a bit over played. Although I am sure some on here will disagree.

Same with organic. I recall watching one of the TV chefs (I think it was Rick Stein but don't quote me) banging on about how the taste of organic beef was vastly superior to non-organic and then turning as pink as the beef himself when he picked the wrong one in a blind tasting!

One thing no one's mentioned yet is the issue of trust. Firstly, most of the labels like "free range" and "organic" don't mean what a lot of people think they mean and secondly, the system is simply not policed adequately. Hardly a week passes without someone getting caught using these terms on food that does not qualify. But apparently this is just the tip of the iceberg and there is a huge amount of mislabelling (some accidental, most deliberate) that goes undetected. Whenever I see "free range" or "organic" produce in my local Sainsburys, I'm extremely sceptical that there is any difference at all in the product other than the price.

Dave P.

Tinypixi · #27 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 06:41 PM

Anyone watching the Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall Chicken shed on CH 4??

It's a campaign for everyone to convert to buying free range chickens,and to stop Intensive farming of chickens......

Please follow the link and sign up...
Home

xx

Susie · #28 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 07:10 PM

Regardless of taste or price, everyone I have spoken to who has watched the programme so far has said that they will be switching to organic or freerange meat where possible.

I would do the same if I could afford to.

Dutchess · #29 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 07:30 PM

Hi Tinypixi, there's already a thread running about this programme, started by Stewy. You may be interested in reading it:

Hugh's Chicken Run.............

hth

D.

tigger · #30 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 07:39 PM

I've bought cheap chicken from Tesco... I hold up my hands.

I actually bought a free-range, organic chicken for our Christmas lunch... it was about £7 from my local butcher. I'm not wild about turkey, and it was gorgeous! Much tastier! I'm not buying cheap chicken again. Even if I have to save-up!

17 chickens per square metre, 23.5 hours of light, .5 hour of dark, can't stand up.... that's not the type of food I want to eat - at any price.

I don't eat chicken everyday... so saving a few pennies and buying one less often will be fine. I can make it last for two meals anyway (curry next day!).

Tinypixi · #31 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 07:40 PM

We can all support the campaign by signing up on the Chicken Out Campaign!!

Home

nightshade · #32 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 07:41 PM

Chicken, at one time, only appeared on the menu at Christmas!
We do take our food for granted,some people never make the
connection between a live chicken and bagged supermarket body
This is what makes the difference between (real) country folk and
townies knowing that what is good for the animal is ultimately good
for you

Dan Salter · #33 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 07:47 PM

Im a huge fan of Hughs and have been watching this mini series nightly (and look forward to Jamie Olivers spin on things which will be the next in the "big foot fight" series). I totally support what Hugh is doing....yes i too agree there are issues with the cost of free range but that will only change if and when we all stop buying the 2 for a fiver chickens....

I have also just watched Hugh pushing his "Chicken Out" campaign on the ONE SHOW on bbc1 tonight....He fired off some impressive statistics that got me thinking?....He claimed ( i cant remember the exact figure).." Chicken is the most popular meat in the UK...more chickens are eaten than any other animal...around 58 million ( i think ) birds a year"...impressive...but then i thought....but hang on?.....of course that would be the case because of their small size?

When a family or an individual has chicken ...say a sunday roast...you buy a complete bird....counting as 1 in hughs statistic...but a family or individual who had lamb, or pork...or even more obviously Beef...they never bought an entire cow?..( sheep/ pig)..or when someone has sausages or bacon every morning....how many "Chicken sized portions" of meat are there in an entire cow?...so how many individuals or family's would feed off an entire cow counting as only one animal in hughs statistic??....see what i mean?

Now dont get me wrong...im not having a go at hugh or his facts and i back him all the way...i also know that he is most likely correct and no doubt chicken in the most popular meat ....but if you work it that way then statistically peanuts are popular in my household than chicken...even though we only get through one family sized bag of them once a year at christmas, they still outnumber the number of chickens we eat in a year?...see what i mean?

Paul mabbott · #34 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 07:48 PM

Well done but don't waste a piece of good chicken with a curry sauce - they taste so much better than battery chickens that you don't need a strongly flavoured sauce with them. I used to like cold chicken in a salad or with a very light sauce ( a light roux over reheated chicken with some fresh onions and boiled potatoes, perhaps?) .

I do think that if people in general started using free-range meat (not just chicken but, especially, bacon and other pork meat) then they would rediscover their tastebuds and need far fewer sauces and therefore have a less fattening diet ...

Maybe?

Quote:

Originally Posted by tigger

I actually bought a free-range, organic chicken for our Christmas lunch... it was about £7 from my local butcher. I'm not wild about turkey, and it was gorgeous! Much tastier! I'm not buying cheap chicken again. Even if I have to save-up!

I don't eat chicken everyday... so saving a few pennies and buying one less often will be fine. I can make it last for two meals anyway (curry next day!).

Paul mabbott · #35 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 08:04 PM

That's interesting. I can assure you that there is a world of difference between organically fed, free-range chicken and the stuff that the supermarkets and everyone else sells (I should say "sold "because it's a long time since I tried them) but I've noted often enough that returning to organic chicken after years of slowly adapting to tasteless battery stuff was an eye-opener - no problem with a blind test. Almost a shame to give it up but I couldn't eat a whole chicken alone.

Ditto for pork - we actually gave up with that because it had become bland and bacon actually tasted unpleasant; but given an organic gammon or chop, there was a total change - yes, it's expensive but I'd rather have a decent meal once a year than toxic rubbish every week or day.

I can't comment on beef - I've never liked it (a personal thing but reinforced by all the virus/hormone/toxin fears of recent years). Could it be that cattle has been bred to such a tasteless state that it doesn't matter how you treat the cattle, it will always be tasteless/unpleasant? Has anyone tried highland cattle or other old breeds? I think many people have been brainwashed into believing that certain labels are meaningful; e.g. Aberdeen Angus = good; goat = bad .... personally I've always like goat which has been cooked well and it's a very sustainable "crop"!

Regarding the provenance of organic crops, I think that you are fairly safe with west European things but that there are dodgy elements elsewhere (but not always so it's worth the risk). This is one of those things which can only improve - the Soil Association does a very good job on monitoring standards. Of course we do have the problem of (in an imperfect world) balancing organic v air miles v fair trade v (and most critically for many people) cost ....

Quote:

Originally Posted by pressld2

Same with organic. I recall watching one of the TV chefs (I think it was Rick Stein but don't quote me) banging on about how the taste of organic beef was vastly superior to non-organic and then turning as pink as the beef himself when he picked the wrong one in a blind tasting!

One thing no one's mentioned yet is the issue of trust. Firstly, most of the labels like "free range" and "organic" don't mean what a lot of people think they mean and secondly, the system is simply not policed adequately. Hardly a week passes without someone getting caught using these terms on food that does not qualify. But apparently this is just the tip of the iceberg and there is a huge amount of mislabelling (some accidental, most deliberate) that goes undetected. Whenever I see "free range" or "organic" produce in my local Sainsburys, I'm extremely sceptical that there is any difference at all in the product other than the price.

Dave P.

pressld2 · #36 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tigger

17 chickens per square metre, 23.5 hours of light, .5 hour of dark, can't stand up.... that's not the type of food I want to eat - at any price.

I agree tigger. The problem I have is that you can keep them at 13 birds per square meter, under the same conditions, for half their life which can be as little as 56 days and still legally describe them as free range. It's an improvement but not much of one.

And how does your local trading standards office confirm that they really did have "continuous daytime access to open-air runs" during half their lifetime? Not easy for British reared birds and virtually impossible for imported ones. (And you can't even improve your chances by buying British as that little union jack symbol is just as likely to be a lie as the free range tag itself! See Retailers cash in on foreign potato fraud - Times Online)

Dave P.

pressld2 · #37 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

balancing organic v air miles v fair trade

Careful Paul, I think you meant "fairtrade" not "fair trade".

There are strict rules that apply to the "fairtrade" (one word) label but absolutely anything can be labelled as "fair trade" (two words) with no restriction whatsoever.

There's a lot of this sort of thing going on. About a year ago Tesco was in trouble over it's "sodium controlled" range of children's food. "Low sodium" and "reduced sodium" have strict legal definitions but "sodium controlled" is absolutely meaningless. When tested, many of the products in this range turned out to contain more salt than the ordinary (and cheaper) products.

If supermarkets arranged their shelves according to the Dewey Decimal system, most labels would end up in the fantasy section!

Dave P.

gooseman789 · #38 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 10:18 PM

Just a thought.... if everyone where to change to free range chicken, which according to hugh 8,700,000 chickens are baught for consumtion every year would britain have enough land to hold that many chickens that are outside getting drenched in our lovely rainy summers?? It may seem a nice idea, but it just isnt practical. I am a keen country man and enjoy my sports such as shooting and fishing, why not leave the chicken market to its own devises and start buying pheasants from gamedealers, they are as free as the wind once they go out of the rearing pens in the spring, fed primarily on wheat they arnt pumped with protiens etc etc. alot more tasty than chicken aswell. Atleast pheasants have the chance to escape! but as i said just a thought....

Susie · #39 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 10:23 PM

Well I am going to try going organic/free range for a week and see how it goes and whether we can afford it. It will mean more veg and less meat but that is a good thing healthwise.

I might even try eating pheasant (the local butchers do them here now I live in the country, but I never saw them in the shelves in London so it isn't an option everyone could go for), although I don't think the kids will be impressed.

gooseman789 · #40 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 10:46 PM

good on you, i do agree i could imagine pheasant not beaing easy to find in london however, approximatly 90% of pheasants shot in this country are exported to Europe which is madness! An available resource which also brings rural britain (whats left of it anyway) a huge amount of its economy in the shooting industry, which is orgain as any £25 chicken being exported because it is not known about, and as soon as its mentioned that its been "shot" its a crule and bloodthirsty way of collecting a fine resource, the same goes with venison i must say that i shot a fallow just before christmas, prepared, butchered and cooked it for my family and it was honestly one of the nicest peices of meat i have ever eaten . However the exporting of perfectly good orgainc meat out of this country, to be honest its a subject that somtimes gets me quite worked up!

Venger · #41 (**permalink**) 10-01-2008, 05:44 AM

We have plenty of chickens, we just have to much population....

Tormentil · #42 (**permalink**) 10-01-2008, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gooseman789

Just a thought.... if everyone where to change to free range chicken, which according to hugh 8,700,000 chickens are baught for consumtion every year would britain have enough land to hold that many chickens ........

A valid point. Britain has n't been self sufficient food wise for a few hundred years. Even with todays intensive farming in both meat and veg, we still have to import a great wad of food.

Personnally I have no objections or qualms about battery chickens. They are certainly far cheaper than free range ones. For example, a local farm shop sells thier free range organic chickens at £8. I can buy a similar sized bird (battery raised) for £4 in the supermarket. No contest as far as I'm concerned.

The Black Rabbit · #43 (**permalink**) 10-01-2008, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tormentil

A valid point. Britain has n't been self sufficient food wise for a few hundred years. Even with todays intensive farming in both meat and veg, we still have to import a great wad of food.

Personnally I have no objections or qualms about battery chickens. They are certainly far cheaper than free range ones. For example, a local farm shop sells thier free range organic chickens at £8. I can buy a similar sized bird (battery raised) for £4 in the supermarket. No contest as far as I'm concerned.

This is DELIBERATE GOVERNMENT POLICY, dressed up as other things. A latent agenda, if you will.
The Government wants us to import everything (farm produced food from livestock, anyway), and turn our farms into a playground.
This has been happening for years and years.
Ask quite literally ANY farmer.
Doug

Tormentil · #44 (**permalink**) 10-01-2008, 07:28 AM

Do you mean this Govt ? If so, I had n't realised they'd been in office that long.

The Black Rabbit · #45 (**permalink**) 10-01-2008, 08:13 AM

Feels like it!

hammock monkey · #46 (**permalink**) 10-01-2008, 09:52 AM

Everyone says its the price of free range...not a chance, unless you're REALLY skint.
I spent a years living way below what is now the min wage in horrible bedsits as a young lad working my way up in the 90's, I ate cheap meat because it seemed like a good idea. Then the mad cow thing happened and i realised what was happening and stayed away as much as possible.
If/when i have kids i'd never let them eat that rubbish, i'd eat veggie rather than that. Myself and my wife get three nights grub from a good chicken, which costs approx £7...it isnt price its just lack of knowledge.

One thing I got from chicken run was that crappy west country pubs havent changed....the 'everythings bad and dont try and change it' attitude is pretty rife in the worst ones, yet the better - not necessarily dearer ones (maybe more out in the sticks tho) have a massively positive attitude normally. Must be the scrumpy

vole-woman · #47 (**permalink**) 10-01-2008, 10:10 AM

I've just been in my local T**** and they're selling organic for a standard £4.49, and Corn Fed Free Range for about the same price (varies with the weight so some are less and some are more). I wouldn't describe that as being out of reach for most people - a twelve inch frozen pizza and a garlic bread would cost more.

The point is, the more consumers who ask for free range chicken, the more the supermarkets will bring the cost down by shaving a little off profit margins - they'll still contiue to make a stack. The big stores aren't stupid: they're not going to price themselves out of such a huge market.

If we want to change things, we can, and no one's going to starve as a result.

The Black Rabbit · #48 (**permalink**) 10-01-2008, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hammock monkey

Everyone says its the price of free range...not a chance, unless you're REALLY skint.
I spent a years living way below what is now the min wage in horrible bedsits as a young lad working my way up in the 90's, I ate cheap meat because it seemed like a good idea. Then the mad cow thing happened and i realised what was happening and stayed away as much as possible.
If/when i have kids i'd never let them eat that rubbish, i'd eat veggie rather than that. Myself and my wife get three nights grub from a good chicken, which costs approx £7...it isnt price its just lack of knowledge.

One thing I got from chicken run was that crappy west country pubs havent changed....the 'everythings bad and dont try and change it' attitude is pretty rife in the worst ones, yet the better - not necessarily dearer ones (maybe more out in the sticks tho) have a massively positive attitude normally. Must be the scrumpy

I did what you seemed to do in the 90's then monkey. Pretty well lived off potatoes for quite some time.
I agree with you to a point, although I'd stop clear of blaming it on "lack of knowledge".
Most people know what a battery chicken is. SURELY?!
HFW may have brought it round again (briefly) to some peoples attention sure, but its not the "knowledge" thats the main problem. Its the MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of people (not the minority, the overwhelming MASSIVE majority), that simply don't care, or care enough.

Doug