Ha! You are so right! Of course they are doing this to feather their own nests (arf arf!). I saw Bernard Matthews give £10 to a baby yesterday - now there is altruism!

well said cilla! which brings me back to wondering if Jamie Oliver presented as more working class in Jamies Fowl dinners view will apeal to a wider audience and make people realise it is not just about class or snobbery but health and respest and care of animals.

well said

I don't think it matters what the reason is for the TV chefs doing this, the fact is that it needs to be said!

Whether you think you deserve cheap meat or not is not the point. Supermarkets are begining to run this country and it's not in a good way!

If Asda has it's way you'll be eating it's cheap chicken and buying it's cheap health insurance and buying it's car insurance and using it's credit cards to buy your smart price beans. It's not a good system to live in and it's getting rid of the healthy family business.

I understand that not everyone can afford to eat a free range chicken every day but you shouldn't anyway! What's wrong with having food without meat? We don't need as much protein as we consume anyway, we could do with eating much less meat and I think broiler chickens are a good start!

I've not seen any of the programmes, I wanted to but missed them, but if TV chefs are the way to get the general public interested in animal welfare, kids school dinners and the generally rubbish eating habits of our country then why not?

I must stop typing now, my fingernails are falling out due to my vegetarianism and I must check my vegan husband hasn't died on malnutrition

EXACTAMUNDO! The supermarkets who are pushing cost price down to increase their profits are not doing it because they are worried about poor people. AND I think it would be a lot easier for Jamie et al to make a profit by just bringing out a range of ready meals. Where is the money spinning in trying to highlight what is not a very popular subject?? Altruism doesn't even come into it.

Although I don't have really high hopes for "Fowl Dinners" as he just seems to be putting chicken oddments through a mincer again. I really don't think that making the leftover bits of chicken into assorted chicken shapes is that bad really. In fact something can be said for the fact that they use the whole thing....

the standard chickens had no life at all i watched all the chicken run programmes and it really opened my eyes to how these living creatures are treated its really disgusting

I for one will know only eat free range chickens they have a better life and in the programme that really cam across,

But once again its down money not everyone can afford to buy a free range chicken and that's a fact but there a lot people that can afford to buy free range and choose not too because it cheaper to buy standard chickens

I really hope that supermarkets take notice and stock more free range chickens at a decent prices then and only then where did will be a change on how the standard chickens are treated.

I applaude you madam

I KNOW! What a genius.

Genius might be going a bit far.

who is ripping who off is what i would like to know, aww the poor chickens.
Has anyone seen how much Ramsey and his co-horts charge for a bit of organic-freerange art on a plate, take a look at their respective websites, and see the real world....for some...

I did dismay at so many people in the pub saying "We can't afford the extra a free range chicken costs" while downing pints that would cost pretty much the same as the extra.

I agree, it's definitely a case of prorities.

Personally, I haven't bought chicken since I last saw Kill It, Cook It, Eat It last year. Bizarrely, the part that put me right off was the advert for the show, with the chicken upside down. I'd never worked out how the chicken actually is on the plate! I think these shows are great for highlighting what really goes on and from this people can make the right decision for themselves and their peace of mind.

well thankyou

but in all honesty our motivation wasn't a better life for our food, but for us, and the amazing fact is, its CHEAPER to eat this way, not just better.
Its more work obviously, because everything is cooked from scratch, but hey! I have the time, and as a bonus both my sons have developed a love for cooking, not just bunging a tray in the oven.
Last edited by BrideXIII : 11-01-2008 at 09:20

As someone else has said, you could always ask because at least if the answer is that they do use battery produced eggs, you've brought their attention to the whole battery vs free-range debate and made them think about the ethics.

At the end of the day dead is dead.
No-one gives any thought to the chicken's 'quality of life' when it's swimming in gravy on a plate.
I'm not a vegetarian so I can't very well complain about the standard of life of my food. That would make me a total hypocrite.

I am a big fat black lady - rice and peas with chicken uuummmmmm

Price of organic (free range or not don't know but that's what I was referring to) as many think I am telling porkies.....

http://www.ocado.com/webshop/getCate...Whole+Chickens

Neither of those chickens are the normal free range chicken that waitrose sells. My mum shops there and it doesn't cost ehr £14 for a whole chicken, unless maybe she buys some special kind like cornfed or organic etc etc.

That's Sheepdrove they are horrendously expensive, they are local to me most don't buy from them because you are paying for the name.

There are plently of other free range about a great deal cheaper.

just been in waitrose, organic chicken was £12 ( and small), waitrose chicken, which did NOT say specifically free range, but labelled 'reared on managed farms in northern ireland in humane conditions' were between £5-7, didn't see any specifically labelled 'free range', but that may have been cos they had sold them all.

went to my local butchers, got a LARGE free range locally reared chicken £6.

This is waitrose medium free range chicken:

http://www.ocado.com/webshop/getProd...iner=000121321

Typical price £5.68!

The large one is:
http://www.ocado.com/webshop/getProd...iner=000121321

I've got to laugh at these people who accuse HFW of publicity seeking.

In case anyone's forgotten, he's had several successful TV series, written many cookbooks and is pretty much a household name. What possible 'positive' publicity could he hope to garner from making a program on a subject that has plainly polarised opinion? If anything I'd say that he was brave to make a stance and risk alienating a lot of people, not least those in the meat producing industry.

Both he and JO are in the enviable position of being famous enough to have a platform to express their views and reach a mass audience. That they're passionate about their beliefs is fairly obvious I think, but as always, when someone in the public eye tries to make a difference, they're accused of having a hidden agenda. Ridiculous!!!

I'd like to see a follow up program in a few months looking at trends nationwide to see if there has been a swing towards free range or not. I suspect people will lapse back to buying intensively farmed chicken once the spotlight has shifted elsewhere.

i would love to as apart from the welfare aspect of it organic/free range tastes better. But i really carnt afford to and it makes me feel like crap when i see those chickens on tv when i clearly cannot afford to buy anything else. Why carnt they make it cheaper?

because it's more expensive to raise a free range chicken - if the supermarkets took less profit maybe they could make them cheaper - I do find that you get more meat off a free range chicken though so worth the extra