Jamie's Fowl Dinners Jamie's tells us why it's time for change

Date Published:

08/01/2008

Jamie tells us why it's time to change the way we think about poultry products

Why are you making this programme?

As far as I can see, the British poultry industry is at an incredibly vulnerable point right now and if we don't start making changes, like shopping differently, we might not have a poultry industry in 20 years time.

What do you hope to achieve?

In terms of what I hope to achieve, I think if even a small percentage of people watching were informed and decided to shop differently as a result, then that would make a real difference. Some of the people in the audience at the filming were shocked enough to want to change their shopping habits so I'm hoping some of the viewers at home will be affected in the same way. We should all be thinking why something is so cheap, rather than why others seem so expensive.

What did you find when you visited farms and talked to producers?

We were only allowed into certain farms and all of those were best practice. I guess the ones we weren't allowed to film in were refusing permission for very good reasons. I think the thing that shocked me most was the fact that farmers have to sell something like 100 chickens to make 3 or 4 quid. To me that's outrageous.

Whose fault is the current situation - is it farmers, retailers, consumers or the Government?

It's a cocktail of all of those, because this point has been reached slowly over many years so it has gone unnoticed - people selling chickens 20p cheaper here, cages getting a few inches smaller there - and we've reached a point where people expect to be able to buy a chicken for £2.50, when really it should be at least £4. And if the EU get their way, some of the welfare standards will get worse, rather than better.

Will you be 'naming and shaming' farmers and retailers?

I'm not naming and shaming any farmers because I'm a big supporter of all British farmers and, to me, they are caught between a rock and a hard place. In a way, this has been the hardest show I’ve ever made - what we've tried to do is make a straightforward programme about difficult issues in a balanced and fair way, and after broadcast I want to be able to sleep at night.

What do you think consumers can do to make a difference, what chicken and eggs should they buy?

Basically, buy the highest welfare bird and eggs that you can afford. If you're used to buying standard battery eggs, try to pay an extra 5p per egg to barn eggs (which are much better welfare). If you're used to buying a non-free range chicken, pay an extra £1 or so for an animal with better living conditions, like natural light and stuff to do. It's morally better for the animal and it's morally better for the producers, because I haven't met a farmer yet who wouldn't love to move up to a better welfare situation for their animals.

Won't it be difficult for normal, hard-working families to afford to pay three times as much for a chicken?

I'm not asking people to pay three times as much, just what they can afford. I believe the conditions under which standard eggs and standard chickens are reared are morally wrong and if changing your habits means that you don't have chicken as often, so be it. The Italians on average eat meat three times a week whereas in the UK, meat-eaters will tend to have it six or seven times a week. Basically, I'm putting a flag in the sand here - if no changes are made now, we may not have an industry left. For example, RSPCA ‘Freedom Food’ chicken is only 99p extra to trade up. The difference in welfare to the current standard is considerable, but really comes down to light, space and slower growing breeds