Happy hens face a free-range future
The bad news is that our beloved chooks get a really raw deal. They are raised in stomach-churning conditions and, quite frankly, I'd rather not think about it. But that is just plain irresponsible and selfish. This week I've been watching a series of TV programmes, hosted by British chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, on the life of a battery hen. His focus is on trying to educate people in just how evil the whole process is, and to get them to switch to free-range chickens.
(You can watch Fearnley-Whittingstall's video on the life of free-range hens vs battery hens here.)
He's had a tough time. It's not that we don't like free-range hens, of course we do. They taste great. The downer is that they also cost nearly three times as much as a battery hen. And who, amongst the general population, can afford to indulge in that on a regular basis? Bottom line? Most of us can't.
Even so, the campaign has had a fair amount of success, with many thousands of people signing up online over the last three days. Coincidentally, the day after the last TV show was broadcast, the British government announced that battery cages for egg-laying birds must be phased out and will be banned in 2012.
It's unlikely that a mere TV show such as the Chicken Out campaign has influenced that decision, but things are starting to look up for Britain's feathered friends. However, there is still a long way to go before this ban on battery farming extends to 'meat' birds too. In the meantime, while the powers that be trundle along the slow bureaucratic route of change, it's up to consumers to force further steps to be taken. How? By voting with their wallets.
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