AIBU to think food and cookery shows do not help people?

[NolittleBuddahsorTigerMomshere]

I am not talking about helping people to learn new cookery skills here. I am talking about the way in which they provide confusing and contradictory messages. The main example being the implications that we are all poisoning our DCs if we do not feed them Organic, Free Range Hand reared food (esp. meat). So is it any wonder that some parents turn to ready meals and cheaper frozen meats such as nuggets, rather than 'risking' ordinary fresh produce from supermarkets, which seems to be either ignored or maligned by celeb chefs and the media?

Sorry for the rant, but this has been niggling at me recently and boiled over yesterday when I was unlucky enough to catch a Clarrisa Dickson Wright programme on the beeb wanking on about how we should all be eating rare breed British pork, rather than mass produce.

I am very conscious of animal welfare and by the very best we can afford (Small amounts of Waitrose Essential Meat) but it irritates me when people with very large budgets -- JO take note, lecture ordinary struggling parents, who are doing the best they can.

I have never seen a cooking show which implies I am poisoning anyone by not feeding them fresh produce from a supermarket. I have seen Jamie Oliver pointing out what goes into a turkey twister and he needed to do so.

I think you are conflating two separate things.

I don't think we should be eating rare breeds, as they could wipe out a species.

Huh?

YABU.

Free range, organic, humanely killed etc is an ideal. I don't think people are scared by TV chefs and so turn to ready meals. How stupid would you have to be to think "I can't afford free range chicken and I'm super stressed about the poor chickens, oooh let's have mcnuggets instead"

YABU for thinking anyone would take an old windbag like Clarissa Dickson Wright seriously!

Actually you seem to be over thinking things and I do not follow your logic that someone might prefer to use only ready meals because they can't afford free range and organic. Who are these benighted and bewildered individuals who can be panicked in to thinking they are poisoning their children by a cook on the TV?

I don't think people think 'I can't afford organic old spot pork, best avoid any kind of fresh pork and have a chicken nugget instead'. Why do you think that?

I agree re. Twizzlers. However, you never see him use or hear him speak positively of supermarket meat/ fish and veg. It's all 'ask your butcher/ fishmonger' 'grow your own'. IME

It just seems that way to me, would be nice to see some basic meals and ingredients. Maybe I'm just feeling over sensitive atm.

I think with chefs cooking is there passion, so they source out the best seasonal ingredients.

Is the chip on your shoulder organic?

I don't see your logic either. As chefs, they're always going to push the best, most flavoursome, freshest, in-season, local products.

To think people will either go for that ... or ready-meals ... doesn't make sense.

Jamie Oliver is the face of Sainsburys!!!

We watch a lot of cooking shows. A lot of chefs do put a lot of importance on the quality of the ingredients they use (unsurprisingly) but I've never seen the kind of disapproval you suggest. We are often inspired to cook something by what we have seen but buy the best meat that we can afford in the supermarket rather than some rare breed organic stuff from our local butcher (because we don't have one). I suspect that is what most people do.

Actually I think Op has a point. I only feel comfortable buying free range eggs even though I know full well that a barn raised chicken won't be "unhappier" as I have seen both types raised. If there aren't eggs in my price range (more than £1.60 1/2 dozen) I would rather buy the ready cake/yorkshires or whatever I was going to make.

I also think that more information on what to look out for ie British cheap chickens rather than Thai chickens who have worse welfare standards.

'I don't think people think 'I can't afford organic old spot pork, best avoid any kind of fresh pork and have a chicken nugget instead'.

This ^

Jamie Oliver is the face of Sainsburys

He was, but he pissed them off about the free range eggs thing so they got rid.

Why would you say 'I can't afford free range eggs so I'll buy something made with non free range eggs????'

I was just thinking that narked!

Posted too soon.

Rather than buy non-free range and make it yourself as you'd planned to.

Whateveritakes

Why would you rather buy ready made cake or yorkires if you can't afford free range eggs?
The ready made stuff is going to cost you more and will not be made from free range anyway?

Far better to make your own with value eggs................

Asda, co op & morrisdns all doinbg value free range eggs now - £1 for six approx.

Kobay, what's that meant to mean? The point of my post is that I (and many others) can't afford organic food. Perhaps you are trying to accuse me of inverted snobbery, it's lovely for you if you can afford to eat this way, but please don't make assumptions about me. The whole point of this thread was discussion, not bitchiness, please don't ruin it.

YABU. I have never in my life cooked a meal from a cookery show and am a crap unimaginative cook on a limited budget. However the content of the shows does not make me think I would be better off on permanent ready meals. Is anyone that daft?

I buy what I can afford, so no organic produce at all I'm afraid.

These cookery shows are designed to be aspirational, not to be taken as gospel. In an ideal world then yes, I agree we should buy free range, ethically produced etc. However, the real world isn't like that is it? We all have budgets and buy the best we can afford.

Don't take it personally OP. It's just a show.

Me too Big