Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that if you cannot afford free range chicken/turkey meat and eggs...

755 replies

LolaTheShowgirl · 27/05/2009 09:31

...then don't buy at all?

I mean the suffering these birds go through in cramped, dirty sheds is unbelievable. There is usually no natural light and the birds are usually ill before they're culled.

If you can stomach it, please look at these:
WARNING: NOT NICE PICTURES!
HERE

OP posts:
SerendipitousHarlot · 27/05/2009 10:16

It's not though SH - unnatural farming conditions are directly linked to bird/swine flu.

But before bird/swine flu, people still said the same thing.

harleyd · 27/05/2009 10:16

how do you get 5 meals out of one chicken??

i try to budget now with my shopping, but do buy free range chicken and eggs
i would love to cut my weekly bill tho, so all suggestions (that dont include lentils) are welcome

southeastastra · 27/05/2009 10:17

there are ways to win people over, patrionising them is not one of them.

expatinscotland · 27/05/2009 10:17

I'm eating leftover brown rice with raisins and dried apricots in soya milk for breakfast.

But if someone wants a sausage mcmuffin i can't say i really give a toss.

Notalone · 27/05/2009 10:17

Lola - YABVVU and also extremely insulting. Yes, ideally we would all like to eat organic / free range produce but we don't all have the budget to do so. And tbh you are very very rude for also insinuating that some of us do it "for an easy life".

Did someone mention on here that you don't have kids as well? Well, sorry to be patronising, but you really don't have a clue about trying to feed a family on a budget when some of the family are extremely fussy eaters. And as for the "easy life" comment. You try juggling studying full time, being a parent, having a partner who is out of work because of a serious injury and having a budget that only comprises of incapacity benefit and a small bursary - then see if you had the money and the time to buy free range and be inventive in the kitchen

thesockmonsterofdoom · 27/05/2009 10:17

If someone was posting about someone treating their pet with cruelty everybody would be up in arms, this is really no different. Chickens are not stupid animals, and the funniest thing about it is they dont need much to make them happy, just a tiny bit of space and food.

expatinscotland · 27/05/2009 10:18

'how do you get 5 meals out of one chicken??'

there's only 3 of them, harley and one is a baby.

cornsilk · 27/05/2009 10:18

What did people say SH?

HecatesTwopenceworth · 27/05/2009 10:18

It's not just about chicken Lola - of course you can live without chicken! But it's ALL cheaper foods! How are cheap meat and dairy and eggs provided? What are the conditions - not good I bet. It's not only chickens. do you remove all of those from your diet? - and kids do need dairy and eggs, even if you feel they don't need meat.

And veg - british veg? because stuff from overseas, well, farming conditions are tough and the people are often exploited, so that's out too. And someone mentioned clothes - exploitation there, so it's finding good quality stuff in charity shops or nothing at all. Shoes? furniture?

How do you live, if you are very poor, without being part of the exploitation of any animal or person on the planet? Seriously. Because if you have the answer, then I am sure people would choose that option rather than support that exploitation through purchasing the products.

And buying from supermarkets at all is supporting the exploitation of farmers and manufacturers because the way supermarkets treat them is DREADFUL! they really abuse them and pay peanuts and exploit them terribly.

So what's the answer? Cos I haven't got a clue.

expatinscotland · 27/05/2009 10:19

if you've got room for chickens you're already a lot wealthier than many Britons.

my landlord wouldn't be happy, i can tell ya.

thesockmonsterofdoom · 27/05/2009 10:20

please have a look at this website BHWT

SouthMum · 27/05/2009 10:20

I take it all of the staunch vegans on here wear dresses made of natural hemp and you all wash your hair in juice and berries and rinse it with natural rain water yes??

If not then bog off and stop being so patronising. Applaud your choice, but some people can't afford £7 for a free range chicken the size of a quail.

I don't care if I can get my vitamins from other sources. Who wants to eat the same shit vegetables masked in a different sauce every day?

harleyd · 27/05/2009 10:20

ah, that explains it
in my house one chicken = one meal

GossipMonger · 27/05/2009 10:20

'Good for you.

I don't see where it's yours or my business to rant at others who don't see things the same way.

It's hardly going to win over any converts.'

Expat - it is a great discussion though.

Why get upset about a good debate? Lola feels passionate about it (as do I) so let her post what she wants (as I would never have had the guts!!)

expatinscotland · 27/05/2009 10:21

her OP wasn't about discussion, though, Gossip, it was to label people who don't feel and do as she does as cruel.

SouthMum · 27/05/2009 10:21

Have a look at this website www.vegetablecruelty.com

Those poor vegetables......

Hopefully · 27/05/2009 10:22

Harleyd I can't manage 5 meals, but we:

  • don't give massive servings when we roast it (when my mum made roast we had endless seconds of veg, but once the chicken was served up it went away to be turned into another meal)
  • make stock from the chicken for soup, after picking all the meat off the carcass
  • have chicken salad sarnies the next day
  • have something like stir fry or chicken and leek pie the next day.

It basically comes down to mean portions!

WinkyWinkola · 27/05/2009 10:22

Hear hear, GossipMonger.

expatinscotland · 27/05/2009 10:24

No one ever said she can't post as she wants.

But then again, that doesn't mean others can't come in and say it's patronising, especially from someone who doesn't have a family to feed.

I don't eat non-free-range meat or fish or eggs.

But others choose differently.

FioFio · 27/05/2009 10:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

GossipMonger · 27/05/2009 10:24

We do that too Hopefully! Do not put the chicken on the table as everyone will pick at it!

Fill up on veggies and yorkshire puds and potatoes!

We do a FR chicken and have

a roast
a curry
a hot chicken salad
a soup
chicken and veggie pie (very mean on the chicken in this so it is mainly veg!!)

I take your point Expat but it is still a good discussion!

thesockmonsterofdoom · 27/05/2009 10:25

I have a small garden, you would be amazed how little space chickens need, and I am not for one second suggesting that people get chickens, but can you serioulsy justify treating anything the way these animals are treated. Can people really block that from there minds when eating.
I may be veggie, I stikll feed my dc and dh meat, I buy small cuts of better meat, cheaper cuts and bulk it out with other forms of protein.

southeastastra · 27/05/2009 10:25

it's true though a £7 free range chicken is very tiny. not big enough for a dinner for two, let alone five dinners.

foreveroptimistic · 27/05/2009 10:26

I only buy free-range even though I struggle to afford non free range. I buy free range because I don't like the thought of eating poor quality meat.

YABVU some people have no choice and animal suffering is way down on their list of things to worry about. If you feel that strongly about it you should campaign for change and stop picking on the poor.

GossipMonger · 27/05/2009 10:26

I get my FR chicken from the butcher and it costs about £9 for a large one and it really does feed us for a few meals as long as it is rationed!

Swipe left for the next trending thread