�1.99 Chicken - Is it right or wrong ?

[BRAVO1]

Is the sale of Chicken's for �1.99 right or wrong ?

Is the welfare of the Chicken to be considered, or is it just price driven ?.

Would you pay another �1.00 a bird to know it's been looked after ?.

[burston]

I personally wouldnt buy a chicken for 1.99. I believe you get what you pay for and and as we dont smoke or drink (much) food quality is a priority. I have tried some cheaper items of food that people say are just as good but nearly always end up throwing it away. Everyone has different tastes I know but I think if a chicken is only 1.99 then it probably hasnt been treated well. Its the only meat I eat, so I want the best

[sara3]

unfortunately it's not just an extra �1, it can be twice the price. I saw a documentary where they taste tested free range, organic, corn-fed and cheap chicken, and the cheap stuff (rather surprisingly) won.

it's one of those moral arguments, a bit like shopping in Primark.

if it was just �1 different I'd choose happy chickens any day, but back in the real world.. I'm not made of money!

[BRAVO1]

Thank-you sara3.

Yes I totally agree with you both.

I would cut back on one thing to afford another.

My concern is the fast food giant KFC who use this sub standard Chicken everyday.

With things like bird flu, I would like to know that the Chicken that hits my plate has been reared in a better environment.

Good-Luck and many thanks !

[squarebear]

Trouble is though, it depends on your budget and I would imagine most people, although maybe have an idea about the conditions of these birds, don't actually care as long as the meat gets to their table.

Like Sara, for a pound I probably would but it's very rarely just �1 extra.

[andrea81]

I am realistic about this and can't see there being any major changes in how they are reared, as free range isn't possible for such a lare demand. But I always try to buy the 'new' barn reared that are RSPCA approved such as Willow farm.

But to be absolutely honest, at the end of the month when all our money is dwindling and we are budgeting to last us the month, going to the local supermarket and buying cheep deal doesn't feel so bad!

Sad reality!

[Ethel]

I would not eat from any fast food outlet - I have never had a McDonalds, KFC or anything like that.

However, I do like bargains. Yesterday I bought lots of pre-packed chicken breast fillets very cheaply from Waitrose - it was on offer.

As long as I can be sure the chicken is British I will buy cheaper ones for curries and casseroles. I buy 'better' ones for roasts.

I do not think the chicken sits in her coop bemoaning her lot. Turkey farming is crueller, in my opinion.

[888sally888]

We dont eat much meat, so I buy 'happy' chicken and eggs wherever possible. Willow farm is local to us, so i feel even more inclined to buy it as it supports a local farm.

However, I am a hypocrite because I buy Tesco value chicken to boil up for Pickles (my dog)!

[jennymac]

I understand what you all say but has anyone tasted the �1.99 chicken I would try it and at the end of the day cheap or dear they end up as meat on your plate. How do you know that the dearer ones are happier than the cheap ones their life is short either way. I f you really look into how our meats are reared I am sure we would all turn vegetarian. There must be rules and regulations regarding the rearing of animals for meat.

[warpig3]

In an ideal world I am sure we would all like to know that our meat was reared in the best conditions possible, sadly this is not an ideal world. With the cost of food stuffs spiralling people will have to make decisions to pay the extra or not depending on their income.

I recently bought a chicken in Aldi for �2.19, when I got home I felt guilty that the chicken probably didnt have much of a life, we still ate it though!

[888sally888]

I agree with Jenny - if we saw how animals were treated, we would all be veggi.

I cooked some chicken breasts the other night and just couldnt eat then for some reason. Ended up with some very nice veggi sausages instead!

I was veggi for years and am def heading back that way.

[sara3]

oh, but NEVER buy cheap sausages!!! ewwwwwwwwwww!

[jno]

oh, I used to know that chicken, warpig - she spent her life in chains, forced to clean out the loos and scrub the doorstep, and fed stuff full of E numbers... she died young of mad chicken diesase, but I hope she tasted OK - remember, she died so that you might live.

[BRAVO1]

Food for thought everyone.

http://wiki.omlet.co.uk/index.php/Chicken_Dise ases

Thank-you for your attention and imput.

[andrea81]

jennymac
I'm not sure about the regulations for rearing animals, so I wont profess to know that! But on slaughtering, I know pretty well and to reassure anyone, the animals are treated very well and the process is extremely humane!

There are so many safeguards in case things to wrong and instant dismissals for even handling a life animal wrong!

[warpig3]

LOL jno, life in chains, cleaning loos & doorsteps, stuffed full of E numbers. Dear God, I am a chicken, and a cannibal one at that! (Actually the chicken tasted none too bad).

[gina32]

i was watching a news report a few days ago and it was about a chicken farm that had all the certificates and suchlike, and the rspca seal of good farming(or whatever they use) but it was found to be keeping chickens in the most disgusting of ways and then lost its good farming seals, so it just goes to show, dont believe all you read on the packet

[Kleiber]

Best way is to buy your meat from a local butcher. I've said this before and I know that not everyone is lucky enough to have a butcher nearby, but if you do, then please use him. This way, it supports the small business and you can guarantee where the meat (not just chicken) comes from. I'm happy to pay a bit extra for quality, not just from the animal welfare point of view, but for the sake of knowing what we're eating!! I fully understand, though, that some families are on a tight budget and can't afford it, but really, if more people learned to cook proper meals instead of relying on cheap rubbish and ready - meals from the supermarket, we'd turn things around. It's amazing what you can rustle up from a few basic ingredients - just see Jamie Oliver (although I'm not his greatest fan - he irritates me!!) and "feed your family for a fiver"!
Alternatively, get an allotment & grow your own.

[terambulan]

All the flock are a commodity and their health preserved for a quick return. If u dont buy them the rest of the world will!

Chickens dont know any different life and u are imposing your emotion on them. If they were 'UK free-range' few survive with the ample fox population and legistation protecting the fox.

Our local poultry farmer knocked out of business only to find supermarkets importing from China (less health controls than in UK).

[Ethel]

Re cheap sausage. Excellent article with surprise results:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024 764/The-battle-bangers-Asdas-2p-sausages-rest. html

[BRAVO1]

Many thank's to all of you for your fantastic imput on this emotive subject.
Special thank's to Kleiber. His word's of wisdom really hit the mark for me.
I am all for the small independents, but sadly market forces and peoples lifestyles have changed the face of retail forever.
I know what it's like to live on a small budget, and can fully appreciate that not all of us have money to blow on Organic chickens or better produced food stuff's.
For the few of us that really care and that can afford it there still are places that we can still buy fresh produce.
I use my local farmers market, and manage to grow a few items in my small garden.
In my local supermarket I can buy apples from the USA and South-Africa, yet my local orchard is only 2 miles away from it.
I live in Kent the garden of England, and have seen crop land an orchards disapear to the construction and house building companies, I tried buying some fresh Cod in Dover only to be told that a lot of fish was now imported.

Growers and producers along with the major suppliers need to wake up. The captive audience of the UK's 60 million people need affordable good quality produce.