'Hugh's Chicken Run' A Moral Dilemna for DFWs?

JoeHel

Good call on the alcohol and ciggies!

Personally I think that the woman who was saying she couldn't afford free range chickens (Hayley?) could do with spending a bit less on the cakes/crisps and other high fat stuff. She didn't get to that size eating cheap chicken, that's for sure :rolleyes:

dgncl

hooby_groovy wrote: »

I watched the programme with interest, and there were a few things that stood-out for me:

1. The most cynical people interviewed were in the pub in the last show, they were saying that they couldn't afford free-range, but were drinking alchol and several were smoking. I find this interesting that as a society we're so wrapped-up in ourselves that buying something that ultimately shortens our lives is more important than how our food is produced.

2. Many of the people that cited cost on the estate only used part of the standard range chicken anyway, and when HFW cooked a risotto (surely a basic staple for most people) they stood around looking amazed. One guy had a whole chicken and took of the breasts and then threw away the rest - surely we're then in to a simple waste problem - that if food is so cheap its not even appreciated!

3. This is cruel, I know, but the lady on the estate that was so adamant that she could not afford free range was rather on the heavier side than is healthy. Perhaps rather than the bullish attitude she adopted a review of her diet and a focus on quality and nutrition

I can't help feeling from the programme and from the comments on here that we're losing touch with common sense on here. We're saying that we can't afford to treat our animals that are farmed better, but fast-food is springing up all over the place, especially in poorer areas.

The UK now has the shame of leapfrogging the USA as the country with the worst diet in the world, yet we're one of the largest economies and in real terms we compare to millionaires to those in other parts.

We can afford cigarettes, alchol, plasma TV's, Nintendo Wii's, Sky and all sorts of stuff - but apparently we can't afford £2 every week or fortnight to ensure our meat is kept to a basic humane standard.

In terms of moneysaving, to me there is no dilema. Money saving should always have morality as a caveat. It should be honest, decent and respectful of others, human and animal.

Here here, a lot of that is what I was saying while watching the programme. If the lady were to (i'm guessing on her shopping habits here) spend less on chocolate, cake or crisps she could afford decent quality meat and slim down. Everyone's a winner.

I've been buying the Tesco £5 special chicken breasts but that show has made me think about the quality of the meat I buy. I eat more chicken than anything else, so it would pay for my health and that of the livestock if I switch to free range.

I'm no bleeding-heart animal activist but if these sheds didn't exist and we all ate free-range, the price would be lower anyway.

Plus, if battery farming had never existed and someone said to you 'we'll save £2 off your chicken by cramming them in a shed, letting them crap all over each other, killing the small ones while the others spend their lives fulfilling their genetic addiction to food being barely able to stand up' - would you say 'yes, what a great idea!!!'????

rayday2

JoeHel wrote: »

Good call on the alcohol and ciggies!

Personally I think that the woman who was saying she couldn't afford free range chickens (Hayley?) could do with spending a bit less on the cakes/crisps and other high fat stuff. She didn't get to that size eating cheap chicken, that's for sure :rolleyes:

Just my thoughts too, and before anyone says I am a size 16/18 so over weight myself!

Her children were crying after seeing those chickens and she was still sticking to having to afford cheap chicken. That arguement was redudant anyway seeing as days previous she had been shown how to make a meal with left overs thus bringing the cost down.

rog2

sallyx wrote: »

One thing that really got on my goat was when they were interviewing the locals and they were saying oh we are such a poor community, we don't have spare money, we can't afford FR chicken...but yet there they were sat in the pub spending god knows what on beer.

Isn't it strange that virtually all interviewers think that you will find the 'average' citizen sitting in the 'local' drinking beer - it's the same at election times - when, for many of us, the odd can of beer at home is a treat. I think that they must watch too much Emmerdale, Eastenders and Corrie.
Certainly I would put good food for the family before going out to pour 'chemicals' down my throat and, judging by the language used by the 'bloke in the pub' his views would hardly be representative of the British Public as a whole.

boredofbeingathome

keren29 wrote: »

There has been a whole heap of these programmes this week - Hugh and his chickens, Kill it, Cook it, Eat it and there was also another one on Monday.

I was given the HFW Meat book for Christmas and he dedicates a large section at the front about rearing conditions for all the different meat and poultry and also the meaning behind the stickers (RSPCA and Red Tractor - turns out they mean very little).

I won't bore you with everything, but if you get the chance, read some it....the conditions are terrible and, as an example, the factory bred chickens have chemicals in their food to make them grow quicker which they then eat which we then in turn eat. Ever seen the browny type marks on the 'knees' of cheap frozen or fresh chickens ?? Apparently they spend the last couple of weeks on their knees as there isn't enough space and they are kneeling in their own urine. The ammonia in it burns the skin of their knees.......

That said, I currently have Smartprice eggs and chicken in the fridge and freezer, as well as Value Cheddar so it's a complete hypocrisy as I now think, christ, I don't want any more of that. I can't (and won't) throw away the food as I can't afford to.

I've decided to use that up and try to jiggle my budget to buy meat which is better raised as much as I can, I'll probably have to buy a bit less but so be it. I have a farm shop which has its own pigs and they will deliver to me for £1 - less than the cost of the petrol to drive there. They often have offers on such as 25% off the free range chickens or packs of sausages so I think I'm going to try to use them as much as I can.

I love cooking and know what to do with tougher, cheaper cuts of meat so I've no excuse really.

I'm in the same position ( Cook wise and freezer)and i loved the book- it just goes to show how misleading the labels are i agree with a lot of the other posts as well, i think everyone for or against makes valid points- just think though if all these strong opinions go forward and supermarkets take note on how we all think, and begin to spend some of that huge profit on making the consumed more consumer friendly.

boredofbeingathome

redsquirrel80 wrote: »

"when HFW cooked a risotto (surely a basic staple for most people) they stood around looking amazed."

My quote button isn't working for some reason but I had to comment on this! Risotto is one of the first things I was shown how to cook, and I was brought up learning how to make all sorts of dishes from bits and pieces/ leftovers, using every bit of everything! That was at home though - cookery at school consisted very much of making things from scratch, mostly cakes, but when it was meals it was the traditional meat & two veg type - we weren't taught all that stuff I learned at home. A LOT of people I know can only do this 'school' type cooking and throw out their leftovers - if they were making a risotto they'd go out and specifically buy e.g. chicken breasts or strips for it, whereas for me it's always been something to do with odds and ends. I don't know if 'home economics' or whatever they call it now (it certainly wasn't about being economical then!) has changed but I definitely think there's a place for teaching kids/ students how to cook and eat on a budget - how to make the most of what they buy so that good food is more affordable and accessible.

Rant over (for now)

We must have had a similar cookery teacher as i always cook like that- the kids look forward to bubble and squeak and rice/ rissottos. they even take turns in making bread- i wish i could train them to wash up though! On a more serious note there was a programme on telly about how to budget and save up with the woman who's usually on the carbooty prog- we all used to follow budgeting tips and it taught us all a lesson in home economics as even i found new ways to save and it was very much in the spirit of mse.

rog2

rayday2 wrote: »

Her children were crying after seeing those chickens and she was still sticking to having to afford cheap chicken. That arguement was redudant anyway seeing as days previous she had been shown how to make a meal with left overs thus bringing the cost down.

Was she the one that, after taking part in the raising of the 'allotment' birds and actually campaigning for HFW, was seen by HFW in Tesco purchasing the 2 for £5 chickens on the third day of the free-range week?
The point that I am trying to make is - just how long will the effects of this campaign last, before it is 'conveniently forgotten' and people go back to the 'cheap' option without giving the welfare of the chickens a seconf thought?.

boredofbeingathome

rog2 wrote: »

Isn't it strange that virtually all interviewers think that you will find the 'average' citizen sitting in the 'local' drinking beer - it's the same at election times - when, for many of us, the odd can of beer at home is a treat. I think that they must watch too much Emmerdale, Eastenders and Corrie.
Certainly I would put good food for the family before going out to pour 'chemicals' down my throat and, judging by the language used by the 'bloke in the pub' his views would hardly be representative of the British Public as a whole.

I cant remember the last time i was in a pub!!And i agree about the language. The price of two pints of lager and a pkt of crisps probably =a free range bird. I did think though that all the people who took part in the project gave it their all even if they didn't subscribe to buying free range at the end, but it is all about free choice after being informed. I thought it was a great start for raising community chickens and really brought them all together. It seemed that the country probably needs a bit more of that.

poorbutrich

rayday2 wrote: »

Her children were crying after seeing those chickens and she was still sticking to having to afford cheap chicken. That arguement was redudant anyway seeing as days previous she had been shown how to make a meal with left overs thus bringing the cost down.

I thought it was deliberate actually. Funny that she should buy her two-for-one chickens while Hugh FW was in the store. She seemed to have a chip on her shoulder about the fact that he earned more than her.

Cazzdevil

rayday2 wrote: »

she had been shown how to make a meal with left overs thus bringing the cost down.

In her defence (I can't believe I just said that), she was the only one of them who said she already used up the leftovers, she said she always scraped it to the bone because she couldn't afford not to.