It’s been an interesting week, TV wise.

Channel 4 are currently running a series of food related programmes, which started this Monday. The Big Food Fight features programmes by Channel 4′s main chefs/foodies.

Generally speaking, Yuko and I are fans of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, over at River Cottage. Although, as far as I am aware, Hugh is no ‘Peak Oiler’, his views on farming and food are quite closely aligned with mine. Hugh’s main contribution to ‘Food Fight’ was three programmes regarding the atrocious conditions that ‘standard’ chickens go through so that Tesco, Sainsbury etc can all have their cheap chickens. “Hugh’s Chicken Run” was a cracking bit of TV, and the campaign continues here, with the “Chicken Out!” campaign.

Reading around the net on various forums I frequent (ones not typically related to food and eco matters), it’s been quite an interesting and generally positive response. A fair few people have followed up with the typical ‘it’s too expensive’ response, without considering that they could either

  • eat less chicken
  • stop buying too many cigarettes, cheap holidays, alcohol etc etc, and use that money you save to eat something more ethical, and probably better for you (in my opinion)
  • actually make the chicken go further by using more of it, rather than throwing most of it away

Jamie Oliver also had a programme on last night, which focussed on both chickens bred for eating, and chickens bred for eggs.
His message was somewhat watered down, and I do sometimes wonder what he really thinks.

I mean, you end up reading stuff like this afterwards.
Jamie Oliver ‘sorry’ for biting the hand that feeds him.
Oliver says sorry to Sainsbury’s for chicken outburst

In a one-off documentary, Jamie’s Fowl Dinners, to be broadcast on Channel 4 tonight, he highlights the appalling conditions in which many chickens are kept. Officials from all the main supermarket chains were invited to take part in a filmed debate as a part of the documentary, but only Waitrose and the Co-op accepted.

Oliver told reporters earlier this week that he was astonished at Sainsbury’s failure to turn up. “I am really upset. The question is: why didn’t they come? What is there to hide? It is shocking that the people that I work for did not turn up on the day. I do not know why. The fact that your PR department has not even got the confidence to turn up and talk about what you do for the millions of people who come through your doors each week. How dare they not? I was really upset.”

The supermarket has now gone on the offensive. It took full-page advertisements in yesterday’s newspapers stressing the quality of its poultry, citing Oliver and the RSPCA, as well as writing to its 2 million loyalty card holders to reassure them of the quality of its chickens.

Jamie Oliver has apologised for attacking Sainsbury’s after the supermarket refused to take part in a studio debate on standards of care for battery chickens.

The celebrity chef, who is paid £1.2m a year to front Sainsbury’s advertising campaigns, has written an open letter which has been sent to Sainsbury’s 150,000 staff. The letter was sent after a tense telephone conversation between Sainsbury’s chief executive, Justin King, and the television chef on Monday.

In the letter, Oliver said his comments had been taken out of context and he felt “incredibly upset” by the publicity.

“I am happy to confirm what I have said on several occasions – that Sainsbury’s have the most to be proud of on this important animal welfare issue. I would not have continued working with Sainsbury’s for so many years if I did not believe you were showing real leadership.”

Once again, I carry on my like-dislike-like-dislike thing of Oliver.