Hugh's Chicken Run (Merged Discussion)

~Chameleon~

geordie_joe wrote: »

Take a look at this video of an interview with HFW

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7150000/newsid_7155000/7155036.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1

In it the chickens are mention, and he clearly says "we have harvested our last crop for the year"

I take this to mean that after the new year he will be harvesting more chickens.

Don't get fooled by him saying "and I shall be cooking them tonight in a cookery demonstration" He had thousands and there's no way he will be cooking all of them.

I don't currently have any sound on this PC so can't comment on the above footage. I have, however, found more information on the River Cottage website whereby Hugh has responded to criticism from some of the daily newspapers. I won't quote the entire article here as it's far too long (you can read it for yourself here http://www.rivercottage.net/NewsEvents/Default.aspx ) but I'll just pick out a couple of quotes which clarifies some of the points raised in this discussion.

At the time we made the decision to set up our experimental farm (in June 2007) we had not been able to gain access, either for ourselves or for local shoppers, to any intensive poultry farms.

I was right in thinking it had been filmed during last summer, therefore all the poultry raised would have been slaughtered long before the screening of the programme.

Given the very short term nature of our experimental facilities we made a special request to be inspected during the short life of our farm.

That indicates, to me anyway, that the farm was only ever intended as a short term project purely for the programme. I can't find any information to state the farm is still being used to produce chickens.

Our intensive flock went to slaughter 7 days later, and our free range birds another three weeks after that.

So, all the birds would have been killed by October at the very latest, some 3 months ago, therefore he can't be profiteering off the back of the programme to sell them

We insisted that, when the time came to take the birds to slaughter, they were caught and handled by the RSPCA’s prescribed “two-legged” method, with a maximum of two birds in each hand of the catchers. In the industry it is common practice to catch birds by one leg only, with four birds held in each hand, despite the fact that this has been shown to cause serious leg injuries to birds.

At least we now know Hugh was consistent in maintianing a high welfare of the birds right to the very end.

geordie_joe

Plushchris wrote: »

The single most ludicrous excuse for becoming a vegan I have ever heard.

Yes, I know

Plushchris wrote: »

Becoming a vegan JUST so you can claim the moral high ground?

Don't worry I have no intention of becoming a vegan. But at that moment in time it would have been nice if i had been one.

~Chameleon~

Titania777 wrote: »

For anyone that's interested in the animal welfare subject there is some more information here

http://www.hillside.org.uk/

Includes investigations into the RSPCA Freedom Food etc.

I am a vegetarian but don't feel the need to preach to meat eating family and friends. Suffice to say, it is a matter of individual choice (or sometimes conscience), made up of all different factors. I do though, keep them informed of any information I have regarding ethics/welfare of the animals they may be eating.

Re the HFW programmes and others, I look on it that at least the prgrammes may be educating people that were not aware of the situation and giving them more information to make a choice. This will boost the celebrities’ income but it's only the 'celebrities' that will be given air time to get their point across. Lots of 'ordinary' people have been aware of what's been going on for years.

When I purchase meat, eggs etc to cater for family or friends, I always buy organic (I feel there is still too much of a grey area for 'free-range').

I have an incredibly small food budget but as I can prepare and cook properly (like lots of others here), the food does go further, so I buy less of it.

Nothing is ever wasted - skin, dripping, carcass all get used up for soups, stocks etc.
Anyone that has eaten my organic food normally says it reminds them of the food they had when they were kids (we are all in our 40's) and says it tastes much better than normal. Most now include some organic purchases with their shopping.

I suppose it all boils down to how bothered you are by what you eat, worse case scenarios like bleached chicken, meat pumped with water to make it look more, well the list goes on, that's why there needs to be more information readily available to the general public.

Very well said! :T :T :T

margaretclare

Hello geordiejoe, was interested in you saying you live between towns and to get a free-range chicken you'd have to walk to Tesco which is difficult for you.

When I lived on my own, 1992-97, and was certainly not in anyway affluent - widowed and redundant with a mortgage - I used to buy meat from here: http://www.helenbrowningorganics.co.uk/index.phtml

A box of meat from Helen Browning, including a chicken, would last me ages. I used to re-pack all the items into smaller bags and freeze them. No need to go to Somerfield, Tesco or anywhere else for meat. I would sometimes get a chicken from my local butcher and he'd chop it into quarters for me. That butcher knew where all the meat he sold came from and whether it was organic or not. The whole chicken from Helen I would keep for when family came and I gave them a cooked dinner.

Since that time the idea of farmers' markets has grown tremendously. We have one every month March to November. A local farmer who sells meat from their beef shorthorn herd, also an organic chicken farmer, a lot of other goodies. Farmers' markets are an obvious outlet for small producers, by-passing the supermarkets and their demands.

If you have a small butcher, baker or anyone else, use them or lose them. We buy our bread from a small local bakery which bakes fresh every night, yet the same arguments apply - 'oh I can't afford £1.15 for a freshly-baked wholemeal loaf, I have to get one for 35p from the supermarket'. DH and I are retired wrinklies and we prefer quality to quantity. We only buy free-range eggs and from now on, will never buy anything but organic chicken, which is free-range by definition, as someone on this thread has already clarified.

Margaret

~Chameleon~

margaretclare wrote: »

When I lived on my own, 1992-97, and was certainly not in anyway affluent - widowed and redundant with a mortgage - I used to buy meat from here: http://www.helenbrowningorganics.co.uk/index.phtml

That name rings a bell! I think she is one of the few veal farmers in the UK that raises veal calves to a very high standard and produces the "new" pink veal. I'll have to take a look at her online shop.


ETA: I thought as much http://www.helenbrowningorganics.co.uk/about_us/the_farm/_welfare_friendly_veal.phtml


2nd edit: I've just placed an order from this site. A taster box, plus veal joint, veal stirfry and stewing meat, chicken wings and chicken thighs. Over 10kg of high quality organic meat for less than £8/kg - excellent stuff :T

geordie_joe

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I don't currently have any sound on this PC so can't comment on the above footage. I have, however, found more information on the River Cottage website whereby Hugh has responded to criticism from some of the daily newspapers. I won't quote the entire article here as it's far too long (you can read it for yourself here http://www.rivercottage.net/NewsEvents/Default.aspx ) but I'll just pick out a couple of quotes which clarifies some of the points raised in this discussion.

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I was right in thinking it had been filmed during last summer, therefore all the poultry raised would have been slaughtered long before the screening of the programme.

Yep.

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

That indicates, to me anyway, that the farm was only ever intended as a short term project purely for the programme. I can't find any information to state the farm is still being used to produce chickens.

It may have started out that way, but my point is he is going to carry on with it and profit from it. In the video, which was made after the chickens were killed, he is asked if the meat chickens he had are gone now chickens. He clearly hesitates, even says the word "we've" twice then says "We've havested our last crop for the year"

To me that means, at the time of the interview he had plans to grow more chickens. The interview must have taken place soon after the chickens were killed as he also says he will be cooking them that night.

So, back in October by your reckoning, he had plans to continue producing chickens.

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

So, all the birds would have been killed by October at the very latest, some 3 months ago, therefore he can't be profiteering off the back of the programme to sell them

He can if he grew more that would be ready to kill now.

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

At least we now know Hugh was consistent in maintianing a high welfare of the birds right to the very end.

I'm not questioning that, I actually like his programs. But I do think he is making a profit out of this campaign. The campaign is a good one and maybe he didn't start out to make a profit, but somewhere along the line he saw a chance and took it.

Looking at it from a business point of view.

Start a free range chicken farm
Make a program about getting people to eat more free range chickens by showing your farm
In one go you have started a new business and given it more national advertising than Bernard Matthews could afford to buy.
Your brand name, river cottage, is forever linked to free range chickens.
River Cottage free range chickens become the most famous and best selling chicken in the country.

He already supplies produce to a lot of retail outlets so adding another product to his range won't be much of a problem. Especially given all the publicity about free range chickens.

Lotus-eater

geordie_joe wrote: »

Looking at it from a business point of view.

Start a free range chicken farm
Make a program about getting people to eat more free range chickens by showing your farm
In one go you have started a new business and given it more national advertising than Bernard Matthews could afford to buy.
Your brand name, river cottage, is forever linked to free range chickens.
River Cottage free range chickens become the most famous and best selling chicken in the country.

He already supplies produce to a lot of retail outlets so adding another product to his range won't be much of a problem. Especially given all the publicity about free range chickens.

Lets look at it from another point of view, does it really matter?
So he becomes the bernard matthews of free range chicken, who cares? He won't of course, we all know that, but if he did, so what, someones got to.

Plushchris

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Lets look at it from another point of view, does it really matter?
So he becomes the bernard matthews of free range chicken, who cares? He won't of course, we all know that, but if he did, so what, someones got to.

I agree, its doesnt matter who it is, HFW or whoever, the farmers that produce free range DESERVE to profit from it, supermarkets shaft farmers from behind on every opportunity, not just on chickens but other meats and fruit and veg as well.

If HFW did make this program from a purely business point of view (and I dont think thats the case) then best of luck to him!

He has raised awareness of the conditions chickens are kept in and thats the main thing, if he has made a few quid out of it (and I'm not doubting the fact that he has) so be it, I dont see that as a problem.

~Chameleon~

geordie_joe wrote: »

Start a free range chicken farm
Make a program about getting people to eat more free range chickens by showing your farm
In one go you have started a new business and given it more national advertising than Bernard Matthews could afford to buy.
Your brand name, river cottage, is forever linked to free range chickens.
River Cottage free range chickens become the most famous and best selling chicken in the country.

He already supplies produce to a lot of retail outlets so adding another product to his range won't be much of a problem. Especially given all the publicity about free range chickens.

I can see where you're coming from but you appear to be overlooking quite a major issue, which if you've read the articles on the River Cottage site will tell you that it#'s highly unlikely Hugh is continuing to use that farm to produce chickens. The farm itself failed inspections on so many levels that it would cost an absolute fortune to get it up to standard, and we saw in the programme the difficulties he faced in even getting it to a standard they could feasibly use for the programme.

I think Hugh was rather naive in thinking it would be easy to set-up and replicate such a farm so I think it highly unlikely he will continue to use it. I'm sure if he were to then it would be more highly publicised and more people would be talking about it, but I'm struggling to find any reference whatsoever that the farm is still in production. I can't view the interview you linked to as for some reason it refuses to load on all 3 of the PC's I've now tried it on

geordie_joe

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Lets look at it from another point of view, does it really matter?
So he becomes the bernard matthews of free range chicken, who cares? He won't of course, we all know that, but if he did, so what, someones got to.

It matters to me.

If the plan was to raise one crop of chickens to show us the difference then fine.

But to me it's beginning to look like and advert aimed at getting us to eat more of something he has just started selling, or at least intends to start selling.

Did he have one eye on the chicken's welfare and the other on his bank balance?