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Channel 4's long-awaited series The Big Food Fight featuring Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and our favourite ethical food advocator, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, kicks off tonight. Throughout the series the three celebrity chefs aim to cook up a storm to encourage us to think about animal welfare and healthy eating before we stuff ourselves with supermarkets' two-for-one offers.
We can't wait to see Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in action tonight as the first of the three foodies. As part of his Chicken Out! campaign, he'll be showing us his efforts to convince everybody in his local area, Axminster, to become the country's first 'Free-range Town' by making sure 50 per cent of the chicken they buy and consume in one week is free-range. Considering Britons only buy 5 per cent of our favourite meat, chicken, free-range at the moment, this seems pretty ambitious. Fearnley-Whittingstall decides to set up his own intensively-farmed chicken unit next to a free-range one to compare the two and to show us what a difference it would make for millions of chickens if we consumers were willing to spend just a little more dosh for a higher welfare chicken.
Fearnley-Whittingstall explained his motivation for the campaign: "Chickens were the first ever livestock that I raised at River Cottage. They've been giving me eggs and meat all my life, and now I rear my own. I think they're the front line of animal welfare in this country, and the way in which they're farmed is something to which the public are denied access." He lays bare the facts: "It takes half the time to raise a bird to market weight of two kilos than it did 30 years ago. It's gone down from about 80 days to less than 40 days. And, in order to do that, you need very specialised conditions. They are not the natural conditions that any edible or any fowl should be raised in. They are indoors, they're completely without natural light, the period of darkness they're given may be as little as one hour in 24, so that they are constantly feeding. They can't move very far, all they can really do is feed and rest and feed and rest, and put on this extraordinary unnatural weight. To raise a free-range alternative to the same weight takes anything up to twice as long."
Earlier today SmartPlanet had a chat with River Cottage MD, Rob Love, who set up the Chicken Out! campaign with Fearnley-Whittingstall. Love told us: "We launched the campaign separately, but it obviously ties in with the series and hopefully the campaign will grow from being part of The Big Food Fight series, which is actually already happening." Love explains that he and Fearnley-Whittingstall want people to stop and say no to eating chicken that have been reared intensively. "What has been great about the campaign so far is that once we've shown people what happens to the chicken, they really want to change it. The series is only a start -- I'm optimistic that we get one of the big supermarkets to agree with the campaign and maybe change the way people buy chicken forever," Love says.
In his part of The Big Food Fight on Friday, Jamie Oliver joins Fearnley-Whittingstall's side by demonstrating, through a gala dinner, the harsh reality of the life and death of the ordinary broiler chicken (that's one bred for meat).
The Big Food Fight season: Hugh’s Chicken Run starts tonight until 9 January 2008, 9pm on C4.
08 January 2008 06:05pm
well ive followed hugh for years now and i tottaly agree with the cramped
and horrid way these battery chickens are brought up something needs
to be done and done fast why should they have suck poor quality ov
living just to have cheap meat with half the taste of free range animals ! ! ! !
08 January 2008 09:24pm
I buy all my meat from my local butchers after seeing more and more terrible programs about the food we eat. I never buy meat, fruit or veg from a supermarket. I want my children to grow up as healthy as possible and I will sacrifice other luxuries so that can feed them good quality food. Excellent program Hugh....make some more and educate us!
08 January 2008 10:21pm
We have a smallholding in the sherwood forest which was registered as a turkey farm in and about 1965. We still have a remaining 80ft turkey shed which was used for intensive raising of turkeysat that time. We discovered that the water collected off the roofs of the sheds was used for many years for drinking . The 2000 gallon tank still survives together with asbestos dust which lies at the bottom of the tank (the roofs were of course asbestos) . We have been concerned for some years about this aspect. Perhaps you could comment on this. ( Please note that the Small Holding has now been converted to Equestrian Use, and we still maintain free range chickens in the real sense) We always watch your programme with great interest, as we totally agree with your outlook on real life.
08 January 2008 11:24pm
We live in Forest Row E-Sussex where we have 2 Bio-dynamic farms, which is one stepup from freerange and organic. We buy all our meat there. If they have sold out, I simply don't buy meat.
I think it is amazing and very brave, but must also be exhausting. I am a huge fan of what Hugh Fearnley is trying to achieve. I think raising chickens in this way should be banned by the government. If your budget is not up for buying free range or organic, buy a little less of something else.....
I would like to help if in any way possible. Thank you Hugh!
09 January 2008 01:15pm
after watching the first program (chicken run) that was more than enough to educate my family and i. yesterday (my shopping day) we went free range, including eggs. as i visited my supermarket. ( we are a low come income family) i was shocked to find only 3 out of around 90 chickens were free range and the labels very misleading. i bought 2 of the 3 free range chickens (as the price is not that differant between them) i did ask to speak with the manager regarding my concerns, but asked to leave my number, and as of yet no word back. i would rather never eat chicken again than eat those poor birds.
well done Hugh.
09 January 2008 10:01pm
I am totally appalled with peoples attitute to food in general, not just chickens. Women go on about being single parents and not being able to afford freerange yet they fill their trollies with lots of junk crap. If they elimated all the crap foods they put in their trolley then they WOULD be able to afford freerange. The trouble is you can educate people until you go blue in the face about healthy eating but people will always make the excuse that they either can't afford to or they haven't got time, however they seem to find the money for fags and crisps. I am a working mother of two and 99% of the time I cook my kids meals from fresh & freerange produce, it's not always easy but I want my kids to grow healthy and I support the good welfare of animals. Unfortunately in this society it is so easy to buy cheap & fast foods, people need to be educated in cooking more but also all the time places like tesco exist we are never going to change peoples attitudes.
09 January 2008 10:16pm
Brilliant programme well done hugh. I already have four free range chickens for eggs but am seriously thinking about having my own meat ones. Won't now eat cheap chicken but still worried about the death process for the large number of free range ones. The ones from the allotments had a much calmer death.
09 January 2008 10:37pm
my family has watched all parts of your programme,a very honest and brutal view of the way battery chickens are reared!!!!! this has been going on far to long,i remember this type of exposure on panorama bbc years ago! here we are again still buying cheap chicken at our supermarkets,with no thought to how the chickens are treated in their short miserable lives whilst this has brought a few people to realise how awful this is,i wonder how much his and jamie oliver`s input will make! however i and mt family,wholeheartedly support them for their concern!
09 January 2008 11:13pm
since watching Hugh's chicken run, and realising what those poor battery chickens go through although they know no other way of life is disgusting. I have always bought free range eggs but never gave a thought to free range chicken. since watching this program i have already told most of my family about what happens to these poor animals and they have all started buying free range meat including myself. All i can say is thank you hugh for caring and trying to educate those of us who do not know what happens to these poor animals. well done!!
10 January 2008 12:18pm
It is a very different thing to know that something is wrong or to actually see it. I know it should not be like that, but it is very easy to just not care. I did of course know about the bad circumstances these poor animals live in, but after having seen your programme I finally realised: There is no way to go back to any shop and buy normal farmed chicken. And I startet to think about all the other farming methods. Thank you for giving me the final cick in the right direction. I come from Germany and life some years in England now, but my English is still not very good. Sorry for that. Well done Hugh and please go on!
10 January 2008 01:15pm
Well done Hugh,
After watching the program I could of easiler turned veggie. But will from now on only be buying free range chickens from our local butchers. I popped in asked him lots of questions about where his birds come from even the breast portions he sells and they are all farm reared with outside runs. I came away very happy, knowing the next chixken I buy had a good life before it fed me.
I wanted to be there talking to some of those people in the pub interviews and say to them that if they gave up a couple of pints a week they could afford a free range chicken for their Sunday lunch.
Thank you for showing us both sides of the story Hugh and one day when we have a garden bigger than a shoe box. We will have our free rabge chickens.
All the best.
Chickens Out!
11 January 2008 09:35pm
Tell Everyone Shout Chicken Out!
Me and my mam are supporting your chicken out! campaign in every way. Please don't give up, its the most worthy cause we have heard in a long time. No matter what, keep fighting we are behind you all the way!!!! Never another caged hen/s egg again.
12 January 2008 02:26pm
I went to Asda the other day there (10-1-08) to buy a free range chicken. There was none on the shelf, so i asked someone who works there if they had any, she had to go away and ask, she came back and advised me that they havent got any. I was so appalled by this, which makes me no longer want to shop in any Asda store again. They were very unhelpful. I tell all my friends and family about this, so it gets around. I think what Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has done has been excellent and that everyone should help. We are suppose to be a nation of animal lovers, but the way these animals and even other animals are being treated, shows us differently. So thank you Hugh for showing us what really happens to these poor animals. x
31 January 2008 06:37pm
This program has encouraged me to make my school go free range. I have given up non- free range chicken and will do everything possible to make my boarding school go free range.
Thank you for your inspiration!
31 January 2008 06:38pm
This program has encouraged me to make my school go free range. I have given up non- free range chicken and will do everything possible to make my boarding school go free range.
Thank you for your inspiration!
26 February 2008 04:53pm
I am someone who loves animals I was ashamed to say that I had purchased standard chicken\eggs for many years and did not realise the extent of the intensely farmed birds. After the excellent programs from Hugh and Jamie I have not only changed my shopping and eating out habits but have made a personal pledge to do what I can to educate others on the problem. I urge others who care to also do the same....start small...think family and friends. A good tip don't try and change their mind or make them feel guilty just educate on the benefits of 'free range'. Try a taste evening of standard v free range. This really worked for me. I have now decided to branch out a little with a small campaign at my work restaurant who agreed to trail a 'free range day' to the employees. Go on give it a go....and remember one person can make a difference!
02 September 2008 08:27pm
hello
i just wanna say good on ya mate .
finally taking a stand against a bit of animal cruelty!!
GO FREE RANGE
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