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!

"I don't know if chickens care about fresh air and daylight"

Yes they do.

here and here

Greythorne your message shows that it's perfectly possible to care about many things at once. There's no reason why you can't care about both human welfare and animal welfare. In fact the better a country treats animals, the better it treats people as well.

Caring about what we eat is a bit contradictory. The very fact that we eat it (them) means that we dont care. Otherwise we would not eat them, or their fetus/babies.

Surely one has enough empathy to care about humans and animals.

People who abuse animals have been shown to be more likely to abuse people.

It is not a massive leap to suggest that those who have no empathy with animals might struggle with empathising with people.

Nope.

I have little empathy with eggs, or chicken drumsticks.

My son is not like me at all. He wont eat anything he can recognize as actual animal. He wants to be a vet, a polar bear rescuer, who repairs teddy bears as a hobby. HE will not eat any animal he can recognize we animal, and we are fine with chicken nuggets, for now at least.

Vol au Vent- Nope can't see anything there .Chicken inmsomnia. I ask you? Why do they care if they don't get a good nights sleep.Do they have to be up early for work in the morning!!

Agree it wasn't the best example boneyjonesy. Just google battery hens if you are genuinely interested in their welfare or how different conditions affect them.

Most people are twats. That's all I've to say on the subject.

Except that I guatantee that many of those poor penniless people (in which case why are they buying a roast chicken) can also be found buying disposable clothing in Primark on a regular basis. Poverty is relative.

I'm afraid I'm very cynical. I don't believe that much of what is labelled free range or humanely reared, etc really is, certainly not if it only costs an extra 60p

I have had meat from our local butcher and can honestly say we could not tell the difference between it and supermarket meat (other than a ridiculous price!)

That's no reason to buy the crap stuff though. That just sends the message that people choose cheap over welfare, which unfortunately does seem to be the case. A box of free range eggs is about a third the price of a chicken, incidentally, and an egg provides plenty of protein. Why do people enjoy eating the water-filled side products of animal cruelty?

I know there are more important issues on this thread, but i am very that not one poster yet had mentioned the OPs spelling of Sainsburys!

This is Mumsnet right???

And I am bit because I also thought this may be a donation thread and was very ready to spare 60p for chickens

op i think u have no idea what it is like to have v little money-where your priorities are having enough food to have meals for your child and not have them notice you are penniless.... where 60 pence is a 'real' amount of money

Free range usually means the chickens have 'access' to the outdoors.

No that's, er.......... can't remember I think 'barn eggs' for eggs, not sure for chickens.

Organic does not mean the chicken is well looked after. Last winter when we had all the snow organic chicken farmers had th choice of bringing the chickens in and them no longer being 'organic' because they would spend too much of their life inside or leaving them out in the cold which is not good for the welfare of the chickens.

BTW my local Sainsbury's does the cooked chicken but I have never seen organic.

60p can mean the difference between walking and getting a bus.
60p can be a loaf of bread, or some veg to go with the chicken.
60p means you can give your child an apple or an orange.

60p a week is £30+ a year - a week's shopping (yes some people are feeding families on £30 a week)

Intensive farming of animals is vile and cruel beyond comprehension.

I just read the first page of this and have to post.

My family and I are on a very tight budget. I live in the country and meat is real in luxury our eyes. We make sure we eat free range meat or go without, for instance, I fork out extra on a whole free range chicken, roast it, get up to 4 meals out of that dependant on what I make and then make a big soup out of the bones that lasts 2-3 days. Works out well price wise even when its a more expensive bird. Freeze surplus etc, nothing is wasted.

We then eat a predominantly vegetarian diet, lots of fruit and vegetables, pulses, rice....yes lentils. Its healthy and cheap providing I stick to what's in season.

I agree 60p is a lot to some BUT I also agree much of this is down to choice for others. I do spend a hell of a lot of time cooking, planning meals and budgeting, but I do it because I have a conscience and care about where my food comes from and what these values passed on to my children.

We have chickens we use for eggs, beautiful creatures that I have really gained respect for.

Next people will be moaning about paying extra for milk, all whilst farmers are going out of business because supermarkets are dictating prices and they can't produce the milk for what they are being paid.

Lives have a price, products have a price, and we need to pay what the true cost is or change our habits.

No you're right I don't care. I buy cheap food and put my spare pennies in charity boxes for humans.

have you actually seen what constitutes to free range in most places? if so you would understand why people really dont see much difference

Okay, I really can't get my head around some people's views on here but my tongue is firmly bitten as it's all been said before (don't know how some can sleep at night) BUT

do you not think about it slightly differently? From a purely selfish point of view? Meat from a happy, well-cared for animal is 100% going to be better for you than from a miserable, intensively-farmed animal, with no way to honour it's instinctive behaviours. Children in China were growing boobs because of all of the hormones and crap pumped into the chickens to keep them alive and semi-healthy! We send out hormones based on how we are feeling, endorphins, stress hormones etc and animals are no different. That's before you even start on the chemicals and antibiotics. That's a no brainer to me, particularly where my kids are involved. I'd rather they have meat leas frequently and have the good stuff than that rubbish. Also, what a lesson to teach them - that it's okay to use and abuse creators while we have the power. Not a massive jump to extending that belief to humans. By the way, there are plenty of alternatives to meat that are cheaper than it.

Some of you have obviously never spent time around a miserable animal.

Karma

"Most people are twats. That's all I've to say on the subject." I bloody love you for that gaelicsheep. Does Mumsnet still have quote of the week? If so I nominate you .

Byecklove (fab name btw) I think you are mixing up free range with organic.
I wonder if people really know what passes for 'free range' I think they are fondly imagining a few hens pecking round a farm yard!!

If you're going to keep making the analogy with abusing humans, though, don't you keep coming up against that fact that it's not ok to kill and eat a load of humans, however nice you are to them first?

I do buy free range eggs in fact, and free range meat when possible, for the selfish reason that it tastes better, partly. But I don't agree with the 'how dare you not care' approach.

Why thank you Boney

Nope, I agree that free range isn't exactly what we picture in our heads (someone once worked out that the chickens in an average 'free-range' barn would have to organise themselves into a queue and take turns at a rate of one chicken every 15seconds in order that they all saw sunshine. Not exactly free but a damn sight better that battery hens. Even the new enriched cages must be better as the chickens can at least roost etc. But again, an unhappy chicken produces unhappy hormones, even if it is organic. Which of course affects taste too.

We get most of our eggs from friends who keep their own chickens, outside, drug-free...happy.

As far as I'm aware, you can't get organic battery eggs as the chickens wouldn't survive in those conditions without drugs.

Nit that's true and is exactly why I don't eat meat.

By the way, eggs were just an example. Same principles apply to all meat.

Yanbu.

I am heading towards being very poor but I will only buy free range, organic chicken / eggs / ham / milk etc. The chickens cost about £8 each, none of it goes to waste at that price. Heaven knows what shite they put in those poor battery chickens to keep them 'healthy'.

Because of this we only eat chicken once a month or so. I'm an ex-veggie and I can't bear to eat animals that have not been reared properly I blank out the abbatoir part.

TBH I've been thinking that the dc's really need veggie school meals to avoid the crap in non-organic meat . .