“What is a free range chicken?” my six-year-old daughter asked me over breakfast. I was not about to enter into a discussion on the intricacies of chicken rearing. I gave a brief explanation of the chicken’s ability to run merrily around on the grass rather than being shut inside. She quickly related it to dogs or more specifically, our border terrorist, Molly. She likened it to keeping her inside for days on end and never giving her a walk – a rather good simple analogy I thought, once you added in a few extra tins of Pedigree Chum.
The whole chicken chat arose because I had been talking to friends about Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s current “Chicken Out” campaign to encourage people to buy free range chickens. Hugh is trying to open our eyes to intensive farming which is the way 95% of the chickens we eat in the UK are reared. He is emotional in his demonstration of the intense pressure farmers are put under to produce poultry as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Hugh packed 2,500 chickens into a rearing facility for 39 days, with no natural light, with only 1 in 24 hours of total darkness. This encouraged the chickens to feed as much as possible and put on unnatural weight so they were ready for the supermarket shelves as quickly as possible.
His campaign is thought provoking but, for many, it largely comes down to money. Many people say they cannot afford to pay double for a free range chicken. This is a very personal decision and who are we to judge whether people decide to spend their money on a free range chicken for their kids’ lunch, the latest trainers or a Nintendo DX?
I was quick to reassure my daughter and rather righteously claim to have always bought free range chickens. However, moments later I began to reflect on my confident claim. Was I really the free range mother I claimed to be? Afterall, it was most unlikely that all the chicken my children had consumed in restaurants, pubs or even at friends’ houses were free range. I simply cannot deny that I have turned towards the occasional fast food item, when I realise there is nothing scheduled for supper. Like many, my children are quite partial to the odd chicken nugget and have declared the crème de la crème of nuggets are those nestled together in a MacDonalds bag. That definitely puts me in the part-time free range camp. I wholeheartedly support Hugh’s campaign and am happy to pay the difference for our free range feathery friends, particularly in supermarkets. However, I am guilty of the occasional rushed relapse. Sadly, I do not think Hugh’s campaign will ever reach the fast-food industry, which I am afraid is here to stay. Ronald has kindly introduced salads to his golden arches but I think the free range or even organic McNugget might be a little way off but we can only hope.
