Poet

Looked at the Forster website - don't see any chickens though. Interestingly, I just read through their benefits of organic. I would love to go through that item by item with you as most of it is a marketing con, believe me - but that is not the subject of this section.

coe114c - I wasn't going to be quite as blunt as you, but I know that Jamie will receive a massive amount of press and TV time by this chicken campaign.

I know he is a business man and he is doing an excellent job of promoting himself. Good luck to him. What really annoys me is that on his way to the top he is trying to ruin a very slick industry by using sensationalism and shock tactics and I don't think he has thought of the consequences.

One of which is the fact that world grain prices have doubled in the last 6 months, and other costs of raising chicken are soaring. This means that the price of chicken is rising at the moment but has got a long way to go yet. This will certainly put the free range out of a lot of people's price range and if he succeeded in ruining the Red Tractor type of chicken farming, the imports will come flooding in from Brazil and Thailand, some of which is grown to a standard that even I would object to - I've been there and seen it!

Just watch his programme tonight and check out the shock tactics and sensationalism. I will be watching from a chicken grower's point of view to see if he is being reasonable, idealist or just on another self promotion.

The sad reality of this all is that the problem will simply be transferred. AT worst, or best, intensive rearing of birds in the UK and EC will either be banned OR intensive rearing of birds in the UK will collapse as people don't buy them. What will then happen is as there will still be a demand for cheap chicken is that we will just see these chickens being sourced in the Far East and imported here.

That is what currently happens with the chicken meat in your cheap high street chicken and burger bars. Sometimes all the best intentions only lead to the worst ends. I still find it hard that Jamie Oliver feels it fine to endorse caged farm salmon! For this is an industry with parctices that not only are intensive but environmentally damaging.

After just watching Jamie Oliver's Show I was appauled to see an advertisement for his next series of cookery programmes.

Was it all just an advertising campaign on the sickest level??

Last edited by lisamcginn (Fri 11 Jan 08 11:42pm)

Well I'm HOPING NOT!!!

I am totally behind HFW & Jamies's quest. I think it is about time that the conditions that chickens have to endure is brought into the public realm.

I grew up within a self-sufficient lifesyle wherein we were thankful for the eggs we collected from rescued battery chickens.

I just hope that things do change for the better.