Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

Yeah this all about people pleading ignorance and "not wanting to know" where their food comes from. I for one am glad that it's being shoved in the publics face and is the issue of the moment.

If you want cheap food, this is what happens!! Companies want to cut costs and make as much money as they possibly can, there's no room for morality or ethics in business.

The only way the situation can change is if people change their buying habits. If there's enough demand for free range chicken, both egg laying and meat, their prices will come down respectively as companies will begin to produce more of them.

As for the "I can't afford it" excuse, I just simply don't believe it. We don't need to eat meat as much as we do. Make a fundamental lifestyle change, eat chicken twice less per month and buy a decent one, don't buy the 6-pack of booze and you can afford it, STOP buying bottled water and get it out of your tap etc etc etc.... The possibilities are really endless. It's all about peoples priorities and that's the truely disturbing picture Hugh's Chicken Run and Jamie's Fowl Dinners painted for me.

Our huge shift to chicken-eating happened after the BSE scare. How did that come about!?! Oh wait, by cutting costs and corners to GIVE PEOPLE CHEAP MEAT by feeding cows to themselves. Disgusting.

Why stop at chicken though? Shouldn't this moral point of view be applied to all animals bred and raised for slaughter?

Like Hugh said, and economics dictates, people need to understand their individual purchase IS a vote, more effective than a vote in a general election as you can do it as many, or few times as you like. They WILL listen.

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

He does it for me too, and I dont need to turn.

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

He's got a tongue that's about three sizes too big for his mouth, and horrible fat wet lips.

A bit about his school dinner crusade is here - http://www.spiked-online.com/index.p.../article/1674/ . I didn't know he'd moved on to chickens now. He was on Canadian TV the other night actually, that George Strom. thingy, but I turned so fast I can't say if he was talking about chickens or lunches or neither.

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

Not in Ontario. It's not lawful to sell products derived from free range chickens, neither the eggs nor the meat. People do it of course but like selling raw milk or marijuana it's something one can only do until caught.

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

Wow! Are you serious??? It's illegal?!

Get onto Hugh and Jamie, they'll have a fit!!

Shinkansen

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

It's a health regulation!

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

It's taken us a little while, but we now have access to free-range chicken, eggs and beef. We are now looking out for an organic pork supplier.

We are surrounded by farms (semi-rural location) and once you have your network working it takes very little time to get on a delivery schedule or else go pick up a bulk order of frozen offerings once or twice a year.

We are also have many pick-your-own fruit/veggie places around and farmers markets. Our plans for our own veggie garden didn't work out last year cos hubby hurt his back so we're hoping maybe this year - though now we're thinking of moving so who knows...

We still go to the supermarket for lots of stuff - and don't see this as a failure - I'm a big believer in celebrating baby-steps rather than bemoaning the fact that you can't make an instant 360 degree change.

In terms of prices - an organic/freerange roasting chicken here varies between $13.50 to $18.50 depending on weight. The meat is great quality - no fillers or water so a smaller bird will feed a bigger family - or else make 2 meals for the 3 of us.

I think Jamie can be a bit "in-yer-face" at times but I think he has the best intention which is important to me. Hugh is just a wonderful bloke who I would have married if I found him first!:thumbsup: I've had dreams about Mr Ramsay which shall not be repeated here - which completely floors me cos I think he's an ugly ***k! :eek:

Must download the programmes from UKNova. :)

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

This assumes that people can afford to pay more for their food, It may be true for a larger proportion of the UK population than ever before but is still not true for all. This then introduces bigger issues of health gaps between rich and poor. Our health has improved as a nation because of the increased access to "better" food. I accept that this raises its own issues obesity etc.

It is unlikely that the increased demand would make free range produce cheaper, the key factors are land and transport. free range animals use more land per animal and land costs! More land means more of the produce would come from further away. This country has huge issues over land transportation including road capacity and fuel pricing. As anyone who lives in a major UK city knows land is being gobbled up at a frightening rate for housing.

I don't question the validity of the issues and choose to improve my shopping choices where possible and I think most people that can afford it, do so too. The issue is much bigger than just stop battery farming.

Cheers
Tom

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

My aunt in Debyshire, when we visited, grew all her own food in her wonderful garden. She was vegetarian and as far as I know only ever bought stuff like flour and sugar.
Her main income was from her B&B small business plus I expect some income from my deceased uncle's estate (he was a financial whizz-kid).

She may still do all the above for all I know, but she married a vicar, so who knows! :p

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

In terms of prices - an organic/freerange roasting chicken here varies between $13.50 to $18.50 that's a quote by Ladymoose - sorry don't know what happened

That's similar to UK prices for an organic/free range chicken again weight dependant.

We bought a 4 acre lot in 2006, so the plan is when we move over to have a small holding & also have our own eggs & goats milk (don't think I could eat them though) & grow veg.

Just wondering if anyone in the UK saw the programmes on this week ' Kill it, Cook it, Eat it'. They did a week of programmes last year, but this time it featured 'baby' animals - suckling pigs, kid goats, veal calfs & milk feed lambs that were slaughtered at 26 days old. I could never eat any of these.

I couldn't be a veggie as I do like meat but I like to buy meat that is free range the same as our eggs.

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

Ahem. A chicken can be free range or it can be organic but it can't be both. Even a free range chicken on a certified organic farm would not itself be organic. Organic implies confinement, probably in cages.

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

Into what? ;) Gordon Ramsay needs his mouth washed out with soap and water. I can't see how being able to say f*** twenty times in a sentence makes him appealling. He's no Daniel Craig in looks, so the eye candy compensatory aspect, is somewhat lacking.

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

I find Daniel Craig far too metrosexual, oh dear no.

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

Trust you to spot my deliberate mistake for the day ;)

(I was actually quoting Ladymoose :p)

Re: Jamie Oliver - & his Chickens???
 

I don't believe that chickens have enough of a brain to really notice the difference between being stuck in a cage or wandering around a farmyard. I wouldn't superimpose emotions such as "happiness" on them any more than I would on a banana.

It all tastes the same anyway, so who cares? The whole organic thing is a triumph of marketing over common sense. Again.