to feel sorry that chickens' happiness isn't worth 60p to most people?

[oohdaddypig]

So - in my local Sainsburies you can buy pre-cooked whole chickens. Free range cost 60p more than the battery farmed variety.

Girl behind the counter told me almost no one buys the free range ones.

Now, I know things are very very tight these days for many families. But this is Sainburies where the average shopper is probably slightly better off.

Doesn't anyone care about where their food comes from now at all? Is the only thing that matters now the cost?

I'm not vegetarian - but I try to shop reasonably thoughtfully, locally when I can etc,

poor chooks!

For a lot of people it's what they don't see they don't worry about. And I'm sure lots of people who chow down on mountains of intensively farmed meat will often have a pampered pooch at home.

I don't think they see any contradiction. Sadly.

And I agree with Zhagh meat is too cheap these days. How can a chicken cost £3? Madness. I eat less meat but really enjoy the meat I do consume. Lots of people expect to not only meat every day but to eat meat at every meal with meaty snacks in between.

we don't have loads of money. we have far less money after rent and bills than at any other time since the 1930s. yes chicken used to be more expensive but housing was a tiny tiny cost out of the average household budget in comparison to today.

I do.

Just how 'free range' are free range chickens though. I just can't get passionate about this subject when you are killing the chicken anyway.

I would buy free range if I could afford it I think, but I sure as hell don't feel guilty about not.

I was not being rude to you, I have explained that I too was responding to something red had said and you just jumped in and got all outraged randomly.

Calm down (although it was quite amusing for me)

It's about priorities.

If I had enough money to be able to buy a free-range chicken, then I would.

But if it is a week when our shopping list has been drawn up according to a very tight budget, then my children are my first priority. Which means that if buying a cheaper, non-free-range chicken allows me to also buy something else, then I will.

It it arrogant to assume that those who don't spend the extra money don't care.
Some of us don't have the option.

It is also naive to assume that shoppers at a particular store do not have money worries.

And telling us that to buy less of a better quality/more ethically-produced kind of food is the answer, is patronising. We still have to find three meals a day per person, seven days a week.

So yes, in an ideal world, I would buy free-range chicken every time.

But I do not live in an ideal world.

The accusatory title of this thread will do little to persuade people to examine their shopping habits.

Good post Moonery

You already have with the stock Mumsnet response you gave earlier

I either had to be an idiot or rude by that. I was neither at the time

It's not really PA to say I wasn't even talking to you though is it?

But why is their way the right way? Should we all temporarily turn veggie until circumstances improve? Even if it's food we don't like/ want?

It was though

Anyway...

As a family we eat a lot of meat, every meal will contain meat and i dont wish to eat less so to make my budget stretch i will buy which ever is the cheapest.
Sometimes i may get free range but only if it is in the whoopies fridge as otherwise it is just too expensive.

We eat chicken several times a week so to buy the free range would need double the budget i have for food shopping. I could just about do this but it would mean cutting back on something else like fresh veg or maybe heating.
neither of which i am prepared to do, so i will continue to buy what i can aford and get excited when i see something a bit nicer in the whoopies fridge.

I'm with you OP - I do also agree despite the judgy pants aspect that Sainsbury is more expensive than other supermarkets.

BUT i would then add if you really care you would buy from REAL free range butchers or buy fresh chicken direct where the process including killing the bird is humane, I only eat fresh chicken that I have seen being reared by a local farm where they are true free range, yes they cost lots more but we only eat one a week. and we know which bird we are eating and how it's been raised.

I also know this is a luxury of living in the coutryside, but 60p i would think it's normally a bigger gap than that so given the choice I think I would of spent the 60p extra.

Yep. Not many local farms in SE London!

"What do you say moonery to the posters that have said that they have been in your position or have been?"

Well I have no idea if they have been in 'my position' as one person's idea of not having much money may not be the same as mine.

So I can only say that ethics will always come second to being able to provide enough food for my family on the budget that I have.

It IS patronising to tell me to buy less of a more expensive product, when that amount will not stretch far enough to feed us all.

I realise there's already 11 pages of people saying much the same thing ... I used to buy free range, fair trade everything and organic where possible. I actually do care about the chickens/pigs/labourers. But I am very, very poor now and I care more about my own wellbeing than about them. I don't like being in a position where I have to choose but am VERY grateful the choice is available.

Can i ask those who get all a fluster about chicken welfare feed their pets if they have them?
Do they also eat free range? or do they have standard pet food which is non veggie, non vegan cheap processed meat.

I don't get particularly flustered about chickens, but my dogs do eat dog food made from free range meat, yes. For their birthdays they get posh organic steak (DH's choice not mine!).

Blimey! Free range dog food!

Your choice if you can afford it (or your DHs choice!)

Personally I think there's more ethically wrong with domestic pets eating better than lots of posters on this thread but there you go! (That's not an attack on you Epiphany btw just an example)

I don't have pets but have done in the past. They were fed whatever multipacks were on offer/cheapest.

My cat eats ASDA tiger food. That's what I can afford and they love it

Not entirely sure what this has to do with the price of chicken..