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

Stewy · #1 (**permalink**) 04-01-2008, 04:52 PM

New series starts next week from the hairy one, should be good and I hope it opens a few peoples eyes to how the poor old chicken is treated.

"In three hard-hitting programmes, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall explores the horrors of intensive chicken farming. The journey takes him far from the cosy lifestyle of River Cottage and into the harrowing conditions of running his own modern poultry production line."

Hugh's Chicken Run | 4Food | Channel4.com

ron1863 · #2 (**permalink**) 06-01-2008, 11:40 AM

Sounds good and I like Hugh's style anyway

hannahpanda · #3 (**permalink**) 06-01-2008, 11:42 AM

I like Hugh, he starts crying at one point in the program cause he hates what he is doing to try to open peoples eyes to intensive chicken farming.
Poor chickens

Stewy · #4 (**permalink**) 06-01-2008, 03:29 PM

The C4 link says it starts on the 8th (Tuesday) but my tv guide says tomorrow which is the 7th.

juliejam · #5 (**permalink**) 06-01-2008, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stewy

The C4 link says it starts on the 8th (Tuesday) but my tv guide says tomorrow which is the 7th.

Do you call him the hairy one because he's got more hair than you Stewy.....Lol

Will try and do my best to watch it...

Julie

Stewy · #6 (**permalink**) 06-01-2008, 04:04 PM

I'll have you know Julie that I've got a right mop top on me at the mo, gonna get it scalped tonight.............

Stewy · #7 (**permalink**) 07-01-2008, 07:43 PM

Just a heads up folk's, first episode tonight at 9 on C4.

The Black Rabbit · #8 (**permalink**) 08-01-2008, 06:18 AM

We watched it - and very good it was too. Next one tonight I think.
He's got a job on his hands eh?
To try and convince everyone that a £6 chicken is better to buy than a £2.50 chicken.
I hope he manages it, even in a small way.

Doug

hammock monkey · #9 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 10:35 AM

outstanding effort from hfw, the man deserves a medal for this. It'd be easy to sneak into barns and get footage as has been done before - this is doing the job properly. I'm sure we'll look back in a few years time in disbelief of how we treated these animals.
I hope this spreads to all farming, I'm sure the farmers themselves would be the happiest out of all of us if it did...apart from the animals...

Gill Catton · #10 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Black Rabbit

We watched it - and very good it was too. Next one tonight I think.
He's got a job on his hands eh?
To try and convince everyone that a £6 chicken is better to buy than a £2.50 chicken.
I hope he manages it, even in a small way.

Doug

or even to persuade the supermarkets to pass more of their huge profits in the direction of the farmers!

The Black Rabbit · #11 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 10:55 AM

Yes Gill.
I feel for the farmers at the moment. I really do. We re-watched "The lie of the land" again last night, (it was re-shown quite late, after being originally shown almost ten years ago if memory serves me correctly). Its TEN years worse now. MUCH worse.

We must remember though that we (a generic "we") give the supermarkets their money.
We, as consumers, (very demanding 60million odd of us) have brought about this industrial scale food production.
We are demanding more and more food, all the time, 24 hours a day. We don't just ask for it now. WE EXPECT IT!

At present, the nation simply couldn't go back to 100% organically produced / free range food. The vast figures involved don't add up. No matter how much we want it to be so, (the "we" here being your average WAB member).

Its very easy to blame the supermarkets.
The supermarkets are just providing the overwhelming majority, what they (we) want. Convenience and low cost.
If the supermarkets are to blame, then we must blame ourselves first.

Sad, isn't it...

It can change. But boy, will it take time, and the mother of all upheavals in the consumer attitude.
It IS possible.
But then again, "nothing is IMpossible"....

Doug

Gill Catton · #12 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Black Rabbit

Yes Gill.
I feel for the farmers at the moment. I really do. We re-watched "The lie of the land" again last night, (it was re-shown quite late, after being originally shown almost ten years ago if memory serves me correctly). Its TEN years worse now. MUCH worse.

We must remember though that we (a generic "we") give the supermarkets their money.
We, as consumers, (very demanding 60million odd of us) have brought about this industrial scale food production.
We are demanding more and more food, all the time, 24 hours a day. We don't just ask for it now. WE EXPECT IT!

At present, the nation simply couldn't go back to 100% organically produced / free range food. The vast figures involved don't add up. No matter how much we want it to be so, (the "we" here being your average WAB member).

Its very easy to blame the supermarkets.
The supermarkets are just providing the overwhelming majority, what they (we) want. Convenience and low cost.
If the supermarkets are to blame, then we must blame ourselves first.

Sad, isn't it...

It can change. But boy, will it take time, and the mother of all upheavals in the consumer attitude.
It IS possible.
But then again, "nothing is IMpossible"....

Doug

Its true, its a complex problem, Its such a shame that we have to come to view cheap meat as some sort of right, a roast chicken was once a luxury item - and it wasn't all that long ago either.

I do appreciate that there are families and people on very tight budget but I just wish there was a way to supply them good meat at a cheaper rate than to supply meat so cheap as standard that people buy it for the dog or worse buy it eat only one meal out or it and throw it away when you could easily get another meal if not two out of the bird or even only the breast meat and throw the rest of it away!

Do we really need another war and associated period of restriction to teach peeple to be less wasteful?

hammock monkey · #13 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 11:24 AM

i'm sure the demand for a free range chicken will go up after this, and i doubt many go back to the jellified taste free pap, so supermarkets will only respond to the consumer, and as long as the consumer wants it - it'll happen. The supermarkets would rather sell a free range chicken than a standard as the margin on a fiver + bird is better than a 2.50 bird.

its all about us, the consumer buying the right thing. ultimately, even if tesco were 100% organic etc they'd still only care about their profits, you cant really expect anything else i feel.

I choose to do things that hurt my profit margin as a guitar repair service - but thats because sleep is more important than a few quid

and it often turns out that the customer will come back more often if he or she knows that. fairly do's!

zan · #14 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 12:50 PM

I've been watching this and I've found it quite disturbing. I only ever buy free range eggs, but never made the link to battery farmed chicken meat for some reason. I suppose I assumed it was just like farming other animals. Oh well, I'm a convert now anyway!

Gill Catton · #15 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 12:53 PM

I just wish I could buy free range KFC!!

vole-woman · #16 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 01:16 PM

"We must remember though that we (a generic "we") give the supermarkets their money.
We, as consumers, (very demanding 60million odd of us) have brought about this industrial scale food production.
We are demanding more and more food, all the time, 24 hours a day. We don't just ask for it now. WE EXPECT IT!"

That's well put, Doug, but do we expect it because we're offered it? People only started buying strawberries in December because they appeared on the shelves. As you and Gill say, it's a complex sitation and one in which all of us have a role to play.

epops · #17 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 01:54 PM

we always used to keep a few chickens ourselves and very often a cockerel used to end up on a plate even now we try to buy free range you really can taste the difference and see it the meat actually looks different.

coasty · #18 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 02:39 PM

I am afraid that most people will continue to buy intensively reared chicken , It is, as stated above because people simply cant be convinced that the extra cost is worth it. Either that or they simply cant afford it.

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.

I think part of the problem is the structure of the industry now. I personally know a farmer who own battery sheds that can hold 20000 chickens. For years he produced ducks for the same company in them, Now he simply leases the sheds to a company that uses them to produce chickens for whoever pays the contract. So there isnt even a Farmer in the chain anymore. The chickens have become a commodity and dont seem to be viewed as livestock. This is different to most farmers raising other animals who have a very responsible attitude towards their livestock.

Unfortunately the plight of the chickens is no different from much of the food production industry . There is a huge pig processing plant near me I am assured by people that work there you will never eat pork again if you visit the place, People happily spend more money on free range pork but dont consider that the processing plant is a horrendous place. A case for the consumer of out of sight out of mind.

I have worked on a trawler for a few weeks the experience over 25 years ago made me realise that those people who eat fish are sadly misguided if they believed that it was an ethical alternative, I would say it was responsible for even more cruelty than chicken farms. and it was certainly far more wasteful.
Look at farmed fish its just the same if not worst than chicken farms and in the case of farmed salmon there is extremely strong evidence that industryt is helping to destroy the last of our wild salmon and sea trout.

I think the real issue here for many people is that chicks are such fluffy little things and they feel very uncomfortable with the pictures they are seeing, As a nation we clamour for cheap food . I think we are largely getting what we deserve.

As for me.. I dont eat any processed food ,, and rarely eat chicken. However I am fortunate in that I can afford to pay the few extra quid for quality meat from suppliers that know where it comes from. But I certainly would not criticise anyone that does buy the stuff. However misguided that I think they are. I have 3 kids two of which are teenage boys,,( eating machines) I try to educate them to eat well, not by scaring them and showing them horrer films but by instilling in them a love of food.. Good food properly cooked by us from real products. Not precooked prewrapped rubbish but good wholsome food that really tastes good.

Yes Tescos and the like have a lot to answer to. but lets be right here if they truly beleived that we want free range meat and are prepared to pay extra they will supply it. They are giving people what they want so lets not just blame them.....

Sorry about the rant but I bet in a weeks time 99% of people who watched the program will be unchanged and the other 1% will be in a month. Tescos profits will be up again and HFW value will be increased due to good viewer figures. The only things that will be different will be that there will be more chickens in broiler houses. As they are just finishing steam cleaning the turkey sheds near us following the Turkey production for christmas. Sorry to be such a misery but until people start buying diffently nothing will happen.

astraman · #19 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 02:41 PM

watched it last night its quite interesting

Stewy · #20 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 03:02 PM

Last episode tonight folk's.

I always try and buy free range but then again I like a good take away curry now and again and I very much doubt that they use free range chicken, maybe lamb currys would be better on the animal welfare side of things?

coasty · #21 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 03:16 PM

I know this is slightly of the thread but I think it`s symptomatic of the problem, The other day I went to into a sandwhich shop in York city centre I ordered my choice and she asked me "do you want margerine ?" I responded "margerine or what"? as I imagined she meant do you want butter or low fat spread instead. The answer came back "margerine or nothing" Now I may be a food snob but I beleive the hydrogentaed vegetable oils in cheap marg are far worse for you than butter which is a wonderful natural product.

It is a sad state of affairs and symptomatice of the problems of the posts above that we as a nation are so used to eating cheap and unwholsome rubbish that you dont even get butter in a sandwich any more.

If I start to get boring on this thread plase someone tell me to be quiet.

The Black Rabbit · #22 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coasty

I know this is slightly of the thread but I think it`s symptomatic of the problem, The other day I went to into a sandwhich shop in York city centre I ordered my choice and she asked me "do you want margerine ?" I responded "margerine or what"? as I imagined she meant do you want butter or low fat spread instead. The answer came back "margerine or nothing" Now I may be a food snob but I beleive the hydrogentaed vegetable oils in cheap marg are far worse for you than butter which is a wonderful natural product.

It is a sad state of affairs and symptomatice of the problems of the posts above that we as a nation are so used to eating cheap and unwholsome rubbish that you dont even get butter in a sandwich any more.

If I start to get boring on this thread plase someone tell me to be quiet.

be quiet andy.

coasty · #23 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Black Rabbit

be quiet andy.

No,,,,

If anyone else had asked maybe,,,,,

Dutchess · #24 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 03:45 PM

Talking of "ethical eating"...There's another programme on every night this week called "Kill it, Cook it, Eat it". BBC3 I think it is, late at night. Second series, apparently.

Caught the end of it last night and this series they're featuring the slaughter and consumption of very young animals. Tonight's episode features veal (calves.) Last night's was kids (goats!) and the night before I believe was piglets, according to my tv guide.

Paul mabbott · #25 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stewy

I'll have you know Julie that I've got a right mop top on me at the mo, gonna get it scalped tonight.............

Oh ... can I have some?

Yes, I think that tonight's prog will be the telling one - convincing people to pay what it's worth for organic free-range meat ....