Where are all the British chickens?

[Furball]

I've been put right off ready meals in Sainsburys lately as after I bought a chinese ready meal it said on the label 'this chicken comes from either Argentina or Thailand' . I fancied another one this week but read the labels BEFORE buying it this time. Sweet and sour chicken said 'the chicken is from either Poland or somewhere else {didn't finish reading the sentence)' Ended up with Fahitas in which the chicken came from The Netherlands. Do we not produce enough chicken in the country for our consumption and in all honesty - how do you feel about consuming a ready meal where it says the meat has come from abroad? Maybe me but it seems wrong.

is no one bothered? or are you glad to be eating forein meat rather than our own cooped up old bag of feathers that end up with burns on their legs from their own urine

i suppose if everyone checked the source of chicken people would think twice but they just pick it up.

it's probably much cheaper from thailand! really?

I try not to eat any ready prepared meals containing chicken because the chicken will be the cheapest the manufacture could possibly buy and will therefore have been reared in the worst conditions.

I only buy organic chicken.

I am not keen on buying too much food that comes from thousands of miles away, because I think it's unecessary to airfreight green beans from Argentina or whatever.

Although do eat the odd mango & avocado.

probably a good idea to eat food locally produced if possible..also nicer not to eat ready meals..amongst other things have you noticed how high they are in calories comapred with home made

Yes KF, I usually buy my meat only from a proper well known butcher in a local town. But just occasionally I fancy a ready meal. Well now I don't.

both our local butchers closed down due to rent increase. it's so bad, we have tesco and sainsbury if you can drive.

The eating local thing can be misleading - for example it is much better to eat kiwis from New Zealand than oranges from Spain because the oranges will have been flown whereas the kiwis just trundle over on a boat.

ZTT - I very rarely have a ready meal. All my meat comes locally along with fresh oganic veg from our local village shop. and I care about what goes into mine and my families bodies. But just every so often maybe every 3 months it's nice to have a ready meal.

But under UK law, chicken can be described as "British"/"English" if the last thing that happens to them is in the UK - eg. if salmon farmed in Brazil, smoked in Italy, is sliced in Scotland, it's Scottish smoked salmon, and if chicken raised in Hungary is shipped to the UK and plucked/sliced whatever, it's British...
So even if you succeed in finding "homegrown" chicken, it probably ain't what you think...

Thats my point though Vicky, why isn't there any UK chickens?

ready meals are always going to have the cheapest ingredients

bernard matthews has huge eastern european chicken plants too

LOL
I read the title as 'Why are all the British chickens'/
Was just about to shout 'No we're not! and start a fight.

it's a sign of supermarket takeover. no local butchers. tesco record profit again and i shop there i have no other choice