Chicken Out is the campaign for a free range future launched by River Cottage’s Hugh Fearnely-Whittingstall. The conditions that most chickens are raised in the UK are unacceptable. Farmers are pressurised by their buyers; the supermarket chains, to produce eggs and chickens cheaply and quickly for supermarkets. Cheap eggs and chickens come at a huge welfare cost, birds are intensively reared, living in unacceptable crowded conditions.
A standard ready for the oven bird has taken just 39 days – just over 5 weeks from hatching to slaughter (free range birds are about twice this age at slaughter), the average intensively reared chicken has living space of just under the size of an A4 piece of paper. Other shocking facts are here.
Please think before buying a non free range chicken or eggs, if you would like to do more, sign up for the campaign here, contact your supermarket and demand that they improve welfare standards.
Free range is makes sense, is kinder to the chickens and certainly tastes better.
Hi there
I’ve been trying in vain to find your e-mail address as we’d like to invite you to take part in Menu for Hope, the annual event where foodbloggers raise money for a good
cause by raffling off prizes. Together with Johanna (The Passionate Cook) I will be co-ordinating the UK leg of this year’s campaign. Last year we managed to raise $66,000 and hope to increase that total again this time round. If you’d like to participate, please e-mail me asap and I’ll send you the details.
Regards,
Jeanne
http://www.cooksister.com