[lordlonk]

Did  anyone watch Hugh and his continued quest to move tescos to  give chickens a decent 38 plus days in the world - Co op and sainsburys are moving along fast and deciding the standard chicken has gone- Tesco seem to damn confident that there always  untouchable.

Im not the greatest fan of tesco but i felt  for hugh and his campaign. Tesco moved the goalposts many times determined he would not achive his goal. They charged him 85 plus thousand to send letters out and then added extra clauses before the agm.

They come across so bullish all certain all the time and i felt hugh was right .

What do you all think ??

[Paul Sill]

I have followed the whole thing from the start, and its a good thing. They say its what there customers want and can afford but i would prefer to pay more for 1 chicken that is raised to a higher standard that tastes much better than 2 low cost ones.

[sandy]

I would too as a lot of chicken we buy is tastless but, I know when you have a family to feed, chicken meal for a large family can cost  you twice as much and if you are on a budget like most of us, any saving is needed, two chickens for £5-£6 can go a long way.

[sellickbhoy]

the thing is this, Tesco are the major player in the market.

Whatever they do, the market will move to supply

if they decided to move entirely over to Freedom Food/RSPCA standards immediately then the market would adapt

More chicken farmers would be forced to go to the new standards, and after the initial capital costs were recovered, we'd start to see prices fall again - especially as once Tesco does it, everyone has to do it

the farmer would be happy - as he would see healthy poultry (must break a farmers heart to see 5% mortality rates as burds are cramped and fed faster than they can naturally adapt to), the quality of the food would be better too

come on tesco, you know it's the right thing to do.

[HappyHippy]

I was really dissapionted by the way Tesco kept moving the goalposts ! And expecting him to pay £87K postage costs was just plain ridiculous, but hopefully they'll have realised that he's serious, isn't going to go away and that he has huge backing from the public. That said however, as long as they continue to sell cheap chicken people will continue to buy it 

[doganjo]

Yes, but the good news on that story was that 10%of the shareholders voted with Hugh F-W, and another 9% abstained.  They said on the programme that that was enough to make Tesco sit up and take notice.  Every time I am in a superstore - tesco or any other, if I am near the eggs and I see people dithering I stop and tell them what the battery chickens are kept in then walk off saying - 'would you like to have only a tenth of your life and spend it all in a cage?'  I might start doing the same with chickens.  I can see me having to shop at local stores instead of supermarkets soon   Do I care?

Chickens arise and be counted, I say!

[Rosemary]

This has to come form the supermarkets and the consumer. If the goverment legislates, without consumer support, our farmers will end up unable to compete with cheap foreign imports, from countries where standards of welfare are lower (see Jamie saves our bacon!).

I don't agree with the price argument, I'm afraid. It's just an excuse. It's a matter of priority. I would rather eat less meat of a better standard than chickens at 2 for a fiver.

[sabrina]

Tesco's are a law unto themseves and i doubt if they listen to anyone. Its all about money not what the public want. As for their chickens two for £5. when you cook them they are so full of fat that you could never say it was a healthy meat. My husband made me chicken soup when I was ill and it went down the drain as it was not stock but fat.

[Hilarysmum]

People power.  Buy elsewhere.  Force Tesco to serve their customers wishes rather than to mould their customers to theirs :farmer . 

[sabrina]

I agree,

[lordlonk]

Tescos really in my opinion simply want to do just what they want with no consideration for the welfare of the standard bird -
The lady on the programme said that they were putting windows into the new sheds to benefit the future plus the ability to change should that be the case.

The fact that 19 per cent - (10 percent  agreed with hugh and 9 per cent abstained) should have ammassed that tesco need to change the standard bird approach as that 19 per cent  is a huge percentage of people saying  we  are not happy.

Tescos have not  had it so good in usa where they opened  i think or planned to open 100 fresh to go stores.They have had difficulties out there but what its connected to im uncertain -just remember seeing it on tv last year -it will be we are doing things our way and no one tells us what to do -
There was the store in stockport they built -they built 30 per cent bigger than they had plans for if i rememeber - opened -council said  too big - normally for us we would have to knock it down -defence was all the employment we have created- building left to stand with 30 per cent empty -for how long ? -
The gerrards cross story of tesco will need a topic of its own but anyone wants to know that one just ask- its a real blood boiler and tescos were saved  from a massive pr disaster in 2005 -the stores is still not open till 2011 despite people didnt want the store- and the problems they had getting it started it still wont open till 2011 and 6 years of disruption for that community whilst they  worked there way into town.
Dont think gerrards cross will want standard chickens - more millionaires live there than anywhere else in the country. Would be interesting to see how the shelfs will be filled of poultry there once opened

[northfifeduckling]

All these programs have been a real eye opener. I hope that Tesco one day will wonder where all their customers have gone lol. There's a growing movement now in Scotland to start local food co-ops and support your local growers, like the Transition Touns, Fife Diet, etc. It takes a bit of effort to source local food, but these folks are showing us that it's possible! It helps the local farms as well if you buy from them direct, as the dependence on the supermarkets destroys so many farms. Tesco don't care just about animal welfare, what they do to their suppliers should not be allowed - anything for a profit!

[lordlonk]

I think the farmers markets have benefited everyone - local producers able to cut out the middle man - local people buying fresh  and knowing whats on there plate. No air miles  on asparagus from south Africa -just a mile down the road. People do need to get back to roots value and supporting local traders supports local employment. I now refuse to buy certain items in a supermarket even if theres a real desire for that product at that time. Id rather go without and wait to support a local trader with local produce when available.

[sandy]

Some supermarket food, fruit and veg mainly but meat as well, can also be tasteless, I remember a romantic jesture from my partner when he bought a basket of red fruits, strawberries, plumbs, Lychees and if you shut your eyes, you would not be able to tell what they were as opposed to farmers markets where although the fruit and veg are funny shapes and sizes (like us all) the taste is much much better, on that point I WAS on a diet and was feeling a little hunger pain when I was out in Sainsbury's, I saw some beautiful cherries and thought, they would be a nice treat, only to find they were £4.99, I was staggered, I remember buying them for my children in a brown bag and I sure they were cheap, then, I walked a little further and on offer was a multipack of crisps for £1!! no wounder we all get fatter with cheap processed food and expensive fruit and veg.

[northfifeduckling]

I'd love to know how much of those £ 4.99 for those cherries the grower gets...Shipping costs, middlemen, profit - 90 p?
I think the farmers' markets are a great start the way they are now (ever been to a European market?), but the Councils could be more supportive of their local businesses. They charge £ 40 for those 3 hours (that's a small town in the middle of nowhere), and on a day with bad weather some of them don't even break even. But the council does all it can to get a Superstore to build a new extended store (the "old" one to be replaced  is only 10 years old), even denying a small discount store planning permission , as it was bad for the "town". The big T representing the town here...I suppose it's like that everywhere, all we can do is vote with where our money goes.