To ask you to think twice about eating chicken regularly

[Tigofigo]

...it's just not sustainable for us to consume as much as we do.

Intensive chicken farming is polluting and destroying our rivers and also potentially causing breathing difficulties and lung issues in those who live near farms spraying chicken / other animal manure as fertilizer.

Really worrying too, at a time when govt are ripping up EU regs on environmental laws that will further destroy our rivers and the animals, plants and people that rely on them (along with the shit already pumped into them...).

www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/25/chicken-farm-giant-linked-to-river-wye-decline-was-sued-over-water-blight-in-us

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/14/muck-spreading-could-be-banned-to-reduce-air-pollution

inews.co.uk/news/brexit-bonfire-environment-regulations-otters-dolphins-birds-conservationists-1875799

I totally agree plus the cruelty, the conditions these poor birds are kept in is appalling.

The only way to change this is to not eat meat at all. Meat producers will soon change their tune if there are no consumers of their product.
I dont want to eat processed, artificial enlarged meat full of antibiotics and god knows what hormones so I dont. I ate a £5 aldi chicken once as I was completely skint and ended up giving it to wildlife because it was disgusting, watery and ikea no proper chicken I've ever eaten.

Just a reminder that we are now entering the prime of British lamb season.

British lamb will mostly be grass fed and raised almost entirely outdoors for its entire life.

if you want high quality, sustainable, low mileage protein then choose British lamb.

Shepherds pie for lunch anyone?

I haven't eaten meat for 30 years, my choice

But I don't stop other people eating meat

Great stuff. Not sure who or what this comment is intended for though.

I'm not stoping anyone from eating meat. I'm not even asking people to stop eating meat. Just eat less, and / or better.

There's a lot of bad press for e.g. beef and dairy, and how damaging they are (which if intensively farmed is true) but less so for chicken, and because chicken is a lean meat too it's incredibly popular.

I think a lot of people unwittingly eat a lot of chicken, a number of times per week, not realizing the huge damage intensive chicken farming causes - to nature, to people's health, to the environment. If you like animals and wildlife, chicken slurry from these US style megafarms is killing it.

Children who live near these types of farms in America are having serious lung issues, severe asthma etc.

And that's before you even get onto the welfare of the hens themselves...

During the Superbowl - just one day in the US - 1.4 BILLION chicken wings are consumed. We in the UK eat 25 times more chicken per Capita than we did in the 1950s.

It's totally unsustainable and that's why it's leading to these awful farming practices that are killing our land, nature and waterways.

I've just looked to see how many chickens are killed each day .

It’s estimated that there are more than 50 billion chickens raised for meat in the world each year. That works out to about 136 million chickens killed each day worldwide. The United States is the third most prolific country for chicken farming.

Shocking but not surprised.
Pleased I don't contribute to that number.

A great source of protein and should be consumed as much as people want to eat it. The only way to solve issues you raise is not to reduce consumption. That’s just a typically lazy position that ‘progressives’ take because they are not smart enough to invent their way out of a problem. This is not a problem that could not be solved by tech, but then that would take away your soapbox, right?

Ideally, perhaps. But it's going to be hard to get most people to stop eating meat altogether. Getting everyone to eat less and better feels more realistic.

I can buy a whole, locally organically farmed small chicken from a small traceable farm I have researched from a brilliant butcher near me. They're about £18. The same size chicken in Sainsbury's or Waitrose is about £3/4.

As a result, chicken is a treat for my kids once every six weeks or so. They'll then have chicken for 2/3 meals.

I only buy organic or free range chicken.

If you are fortunate enough to live near a farm shop I would imagine the chicken sold in those would be a different thing altogether from what you can buy cheaper in a supermarket.
I should think that there will be many people these days for whom a chicken is a distant memory. With prices for everything rising so fast, there will be lots who can't afford it.

I will continue as it’s the only meat I eat.

During the Superbowl - just one day in the US - 1.4 BILLION chicken wings are consumed. We in the UK eat 25 times more chicken per Capita than we did in the 1950s

We were told chicken was healthier so people made the switch from beef and pork.

Personally I eat more beef nowadays because it’s better for my health and just tastes better than chicken anyway.

£18 for a chicken. Eaten over 3 meals. Is this the famous infinite MN chicken? Served by middle class people. Although some can make it last a whole week apparently.

Its no wonder that normal everyday people laugh at these middle class hobbies while they try and get on with their busy lives.

Would rather eat my own toenails quite frankly. 🤮

Come on people, there are so many good vegan subs now. No excuse!

You are aware, are you not, that there are a great many people for whom £18 is more than they can spend on an entire meal for the whole family? Whilst I agree with you in principle, whilst people cannot afford food and fuel then they are going to opt for cheap and plentiful. Sustainability is multi-faceted. Regardless of how infrequently you buy a chicken, £18 on one chicken is a privileged choice.

Your own toenails would probably be more nutritious than these vegan options and less processed with a smaller carbon footprint. Pardon the pun.

I would rather shit in my hands and clap than eat any of that vegan crap.

Well there goes my roast chicken today

I'm a meat-eater, but looking forward to lab-grown meat replacing the traditional stuff. About 80% of my Hello Fresh recopies are based on minced red meat or diced chicken, these could easily be replaced with meat that is not from farmed animals.

I would love to see the many issues with intensive farming solved with tech but I don't see governments or farmers investing in it. What I do see, however, are more and more intensive farms.

Farmers can't even afford safer ways of spraying slurry, just one piece of the puzzle: They have been given till 2025 to find a safer alternative and have said they cannot afford to switch to other methods without Government investment. Can't see this govt making any efforts to invest in that given their recent actions.

Would therefore love to hear more detail on how you think tech solutions would be funded on a widespread scale? And time-frames too? I'm all ears and will happily get on my soapbox about those solutions if they are viable.

Perhaps until these solutions are in place it's not too much to ask people to reduce their consumption?

You may be ok with intensive farming and the associated health issues it causes. I'm not.

No. Sorry.

I have a person in my household with multiple food allergies and intolerances so most processed food (including the vegan alternatives to meat) is off the menu.

I need - they need - we need protein in our diet and meat is the easiest way for us to get that

I'm not paying £18 a chicken. I can't afford that. What I do do is buy a chicken and use all of it (not the mythical mumsnet chicken but we will get 2/3 meals including soup out of a chicken).

And yes. I've seen how the chickens live. I've walked the sheds and picked up the dead ones when I was younger. I know how they live.

But chicken is delicious.

I was brought up on traditional English cooking, used to love my Sunday roast chicken, but have since spent decades of adult life eating Asian dishes, and nowadays feel slightly grossed out when confronted with a whole chicken carcass.

Why because it shows it was an animal?

My roast chicken is about to be cooked! It will be delicious and far better than any over-processed vegan substitutes. Served with lovely veggies, stuffing and gravy and maybe some sausages that need using up. Chicken fajitas for tea tomorrow!