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The problem with chicken

by ranfuchs @ 08/01/2008 - 12:45:46

chicken

Today I am going to talk about how we don’t make the difference we want to believe we do, and about chicken.

So let’s start with some unpleasant truth. Contrary to the old wisdom, in our modern world saving pennies never made anyone rich.

If your mortgage, taxes, car, rates and the rest of the big expenses consume 80% of your income, saving pennies on the 20% of your left over everyday life budget will, at most allow you to rent a couple more bad videos per month, that’s it. Is it worth the effort?

In other words, too often we put too much effort into areas that, despite our best intentions, make no difference to anyone. To make a difference we need to first identify what really matters, and focus our efforts there.

So where do chicken come into the picture?

In recent years, it’s become common knowledge how badly chicken, and other farm animals, are treated. If you’re not familiar with the issue, just imagine yourself taking a London rush-hour underground ride in the summer, for eighteen months, after which you will be slaughtered.

Sounds fun?
This is exactly what the chicken are complaining about.

Being conscious of such cruelty, many in the UK have shifted to free range eggs and poultry; and now about 60% of all eggs sold in supermarkets are free range. Yet, despite this shift, over 70% of all eggs in the UK are produced in old-style cruel batteries.

This is because we, once again, have been looking at the fringe of the problem – our home consumption, while the majority of eggs in the UK are not consumed directly by the household, but by the food industry.

Is your bread made with free-range eggs?

So if you are a free-egg enthusiast, unless you confront the industry labeling standards, and change the way you consume ready made product, consuming free-range eggs will mostly deal with your conscious and not with chicken.

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hebburndelboyhebburndelboy [Member]
2008-01-08 @ 12:53

can I have your pennies if you don't want them?

ranfuchsranfuchs pro
2008-01-08 @ 12:57

sure, but it won't even pay for the train ticket it will cost you to pick them up

bloglikesitbloglikesit [Member]
2008-01-08 @ 12:59

I saw the Hugh Fernley-Wossname thing on C4 last night, and was surprised that the only real difference between Intensively Farmed and Free Range chickens is that the latter are allowed marginally more space - still not as much as I would like! Yes, they are allowed outside after a certain age, but there's still a lot of birds in a small space inside.

ranfuchsranfuchs pro
2008-01-08 @ 13:59

which is the reason that some go for organic. And others give up eggs altogether

You make good points about the consumer, choice and the food industry. However, the food industry is notoriously resistant to reform and it would be a tough thing to get labels to change.

Think of the recent dispute over Guideline Daily Amounts versus 'traffic lights' for basic nutritional information shows how difficult this is http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6231137.stm. Only very concerted consumer action would make a difference.

However, when there is clear labelling we can and should choose. For example buying Moroccan green beans - growing beans in an arrid country just because they are currently out of season here seems crazy - that can be avoided.

ranfuchsranfuchs pro
2008-01-08 @ 14:04

Are you familiar with any good web site that can guide us on responsible food consumption?

Sorry, I do not know of any... particularly with your more refined definiton of what is responsible. You might try an animal welfare organisation or something like Friends of the Earth.

BTW, why do you think that breadmakers use eggs? I would have thought the main ingredients are flour, water and yeast. Except if the bread is glazed.

ranfuchsranfuchs pro
2008-01-08 @ 23:13

Some breads do (when I make it at home I don't use, but the sweet one I got at the bakery has eggs in it). Anyway, this was an example only, as eggs are included in many other food products

Agreed. Eggs are used in cakes, ready meals, pasta, chinese noodles, etc. Your main point is well taken.

eggbodeggbod [Member]
http://wordworld.blog.co.uk
2008-01-08 @ 13:07

A very good point R

I trust you saw Hugh Fearnley (what a mouthful I can't be arsed to type the rest of his name) ;) last night.

I have been aware of the cruelty involved with animal farming for sometime and if nothing else at least we can all make a somewhat more informed choice about what we buy. If information makes only one individual consider their options then it has to be a good thing.

However I do get your point about the giants of the food industry. And it's a good one.

ranfuchsranfuchs pro
2008-01-08 @ 14:06

Actually I did not see the Hugh Fearnley (don't have TV you see) But has it's the second time it's mentioned here today, I suppose it was merely a coincidence.

tylluanpenrytylluanpenry pro
2008-01-08 @ 13:51

A very good way to control what you eat is to prepare food from scratch. If you want free range eggs in your bread, bake your own loaves (which I often do, but like most people lack the time to make this constant.) Avoid ready-prepared meals, because you have no control over the ingredients.

I cook from scratch because I prefer the results. After all, how do I know that eggs marked 'free range' really are what they claim to be?

At the end of the day you may not make a huge dent in the food industry, but you will know that you tried.

About looking after pennies - if you're sailing really close the wind (and I've done that for more years than I care to remember) then they DO count. When the children were small they'd even go into telephone boxes to see if they could pick up any rejected coins as a way of buying a couple of penny sweets.

Happy days!

ranfuchsranfuchs pro
2008-01-08 @ 14:20

I agree. But I don't thing I said they didn't count. I only said that they didn't make any one rich.

As for cooking for yourself, I agree, if only I had the time. We had a long discussion with Oregano about this some time ago

tylluanpenrytylluanpenry pro
2008-01-08 @ 17:48

No, you're quite right, Ranfuchs. It was me that implied maybe pennies didn't count. And you're right again, they won't make anyone rich. But at times when you're skint enough, they can bring a smile to your face! :) I remember being so upset once thinking I'd found 20p only to find some b** had superglued it to the pavement! :(

OzzzyOzzzy pro
2008-01-08 @ 14:43

My sister works in an infant school, the children value pennies so lowly that they often throw them away, last year she picked up £150 worth of pennies in the playground and put them in the school fund. :)

OzzzyOzzzy pro
2008-01-08 @ 14:44

I worked at a chicken factory for two weeks when I first left school; the cruelty still haunts me.

ranfuchsranfuchs pro
2008-01-08 @ 15:20

looks like I need to scrap this post. Everyone seems to be picking up on my pennies :)

ranfuchsranfuchs pro
2008-01-08 @ 15:20

looks like I need to scrap this post. Everyone seems to be picking up on my pennies :)

I hope you saw Jamie's Fowl Dinners on Channel 4 tonight http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/jamie-oliver/jamies-fowl-dinners/index.html as a lot of the issues you raised (including the use of eggs in many products) were covered.

The issue of labelling was also brought up. It was educational for me. I knew that some intensive poultry farming practices were bad but had no idea just how bad.

O.

ranfuchsranfuchs pro
2008-01-11 @ 23:58

Unfortunately, I didn't. I don't have TV, you see. So 90% of the time its a blessing, but there is always the 10% that I should have seen. On the other hand, it’s quite easy to catch up on the internet : )

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