Jamie’s Fowl Dinners: What are your thoughts?
Filed under: News, TV Shows | By: Lucy
Posted on: January 11, 2008 | 22 Comments
Jamie Oliver’s latest campaign is to ensure that the people of Britain know where their eggs and meat come from. Oliver is investigating the life and death of cheaply sold chicken – not only that, but it’s all in front of an audience.
In the programme, Jamie goes through the motions as he shows just exactly what happens to a male chick in the egg industry and what happens to a battery hen once her egg-laying days are over.
The show started out with a huge shock – Jamie asks the audience to separate male and female chicks. Once he’s got the male chicks, he then gassed them to highlight the fact that these chicks, in the eyes of the egg industry, are worthless. Their death wasn’t for nothing though, as the male chicks were then fed to a snake!
The scene where the chicks were gassed really got to me. I did burst into tears and I wouldn’t call myself a sensitive person. As the programme went on I found myself really upset by how chickens are treated in this country. It has definitely changed my mind on battery eggs and cheap chicken - it’s free range all the way for me now.
I feel Jamie’s show isn’t necessarily revolutionary, I don’t think he has set out to do something ‘sensational’ by the show, he just wants to open people’s eyes to the fact that this is where cheap chicken and eggs come from.
To be honest, is it really too much to ask to pay a few extra pennies for free range eggs and a pound more to make sure you’ve bought a free range chicken? If we all show our support, the supermarkets will have no choice but to take battery hens and eggs off the shelves.
Did you watch the show? What did you make of it? Has the show changed your attitude to free range chicken and eggs?
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I watched the progamme with interest as I was brought up on a poultry farm in the 60s. My father had birds in sheds not in batteries. My strongest memory is when he decided not to use the commercially produced food but fed grain. He had multiples of deaths and when he sent his hens away for autopsy death could only be explained as withdrawal from additives. I have always kept hens for my own eggs- I buy “free range” layers from local farms which are a year old and otherwise would be slaughtered.I keep them in an ark which I move around my garden so as well as feed they always have greens to peck at. It usually takes them about 8-12 weeks to start laying and get back their feathers!! They then lay -not 1 per day but 3 per week on average for the next 4 years.Some of my hens are still laying but not so often at 6 years.
Saw the show and was horrified.
I live 5 mins from, and do all my shopping at Tesco. Not anymore. There’s a Sainsury’s 6 mins away where I’ll be going now, to get my ORGANIC, FREE-RANGE chicken and eggs.
Could not believe one lady said she would stick to cheap chicken and eggs because she’s on a tight budget. Drink water instead of coke. There, you’ve saved your pound.
I found the programme quite disturbing as it was cruel what the chickens went through.From now on i will check the labels on products i buy,including egg based products.Thankyou for showing me and making me aware of what actually happens.I knew about caged birds but not to that level.It has changed my way of shopping in the future.
So, so glad that Jamie & Hugh are bringing this to the masses attention, I for one only eat FR eggs that’s because I have them here at home, one question which I would ask that was not addressed is WHAT ARE THE CHICKENS FED ON ??? I don’t believe this was mentioned on either Hugh’s program or Jamies, It would be interesting to know what the industry is feeding these poor creatures if they are earning such a little amount of money per bird, hopefully not CHICKEN !!
I thought the show was both upsetting and very persuasive. I’m only buying free-range from now on, and I’m not going to eat chicken in restaurants as you can’t be sure how they’re reared.
Free-range chicken is not expensive in comparison to other meats. And as Hugh said, it shouldn’t be possible to produce a chicken for £2.50. The thing is we’re so used to buying cheap chicken it’s an expectation. I believe shopping habits will change and that this will consumer led. But I feel supermarkets CAN afford to start the ball rolling by making their promotions on free-range and organic chickens rather than crap foods.
I also think packaging could be clearer and include if it contains egg products from battery hens. If it had a ‘Jamie and Hugh’ kitemark on it you’re safe in knowing the chicken wasn’t subjected these barbaric procedures.
I would just like to say my sincere thanks to Jamie and Hugh for highlighting exactly what goes on with extensive farming. I knew it was bad but had no ideia how bad it was. I think it should be shown to every school in the UK so that children can be educated as to how their food is made up and that way at least they know. Many thanks.
Hi there, I would like to say that last nights program had both myself and my husband in tears, the poor little chicks, the way they are flung around, and then gassed if they are the wrong sex
I myself buy free range eggs and have done for a good few months now, I would also like to know what these hens are being fed with, is there a link to us all becoming heavier and the chickens being super sized.
A big THANK YOU to Jamie and friends this weeks tv as been worth watching it explained so much it should be shown in schools and to the public every where . THANK YOU Remember this is only the begining . Love it before it gets to your plateis the message. Everyone needs to learn to cook less meat
but with a better taste and quality .
Thanks to both Jamie and Hugh for the progammes they brought to our attention this week. The lady on Hughs programme that said she was a single Mother on a budget - Im fed up with hearing that old chestnut. By the size of her - she is obviously not on that tighter budget she has plenty of intake of buns biscuits fizzy drinks and crisps - no fat people came out of the prison of war camps did they mmm
think about it
Go for it Jamie, the more sensitive of us are behind you and you opened our eyes on issues such as hellmans mayo! I cannot believe the cruelty for animals and am right there on the chicken run, other animals too everything with a face on this planet should have rights!!!!!!