View Full Version : Chicken....
Okay. I am not one to be turned off foods easily. I've seen some footage of how chickens are kept and not been particularly happy about it at all but with a tight budget and my love for chicken dishes... I still have been eating the bog standard chicken in supermarkets. (Never the Sainsburys own type jobbo... just standard).
Anyway.
I met a guy the other night. He catches chicken for a living for the major supermarkets (bizarre I thought but hey!). He was an all right kind of guy... a little bit peculiar but yeh. Anyway. Was speaking to him and he was telling me about the awful awful conditions chickens were kept in. As in like... properly awful. And described how he would catch them and how they were strung up and things....
Now I think up until this point I've always been semi desensitised to it all because I've never properly witnessed it/come across someone working directly in the industry. I don't know what it was about this guy but when he said he could scoop up 8 at a time and was describing things... and also saying how HE would never eat the chicken there (not being rude but he seemed like the kind of guy who would probably nom road kill). Well that had a massive affect on me. I actually felt quite ill.
So.
Two nights ago I ate my last standard chicken breasts. I'm not going to abstain from eating chicken/not eat it when I'm out etc but I won't be buying normal chicken ever again. I'll just survive off quorn and when I can afford it free range/organic (which the dude said was a gazillion times better...).
I don't really know what the point of this thread is... it just kind of shocked me and I never thought I would be put off.
Odd.
Funny world isn't it.
And before ANYONE tells me about the condition of my duck currently in the oven I am just going to bury my head in the sand because it's one thing I absolutely LOVE and well yeh. I will be more sensible in the future though and try and get proper free range duckeroos but yeh. Shh. It's like my once in a while treat and I love it!
Anyone else have these kind of revolutionary experiences that changes their eating/life habits? I should imagine there's a fair few :)
Del Lardo
17-10-2009, 19:12
I've recently started using a local butcher for most of my meat, the cost is similar to that of the standard Asda/Tesco/Sainburys stuff but the quality is far better and the Butcher was telling me it was because the meat is kept in much better conditions (when alive) than supermarket stuff.
Del Lardo top tip, buy meat from a Butchers and not a supermarket
SidewinderINC
17-10-2009, 19:45
I've recently started using a local butcher for most of my meat, the cost is similar to that of the standard Asda/Tesco/Sainburys stuff but the quality is far better and the Butcher was telling me it was because the meat is kept in much better conditions (when alive) than supermarket stuff.
Del Lardo top tip, buy meat from a Butchers and not a supermarket
I agree with this completely, unfortunately I was in no state to leave the house today to go to the butchers and they're not open on a sunday :(
I wish I could afford to go to the butchers for all our meat - I would state hands down it is far superior in every way bar longevity (which is understandable).
I'm sure there are many reasons to go with butchers cuts etc other than flavour but that and choice of cuts etc would be more than enough of a selling point for me- roll on to a time when I can afford to shop wherever I please! :D
Well this is it Jingo, I'm gutted really as I won't be able to afford to eat chicken any more. It will be a rare occasion for me :( Boo.
But I just couldn't do it now... :(
Del Lardo
17-10-2009, 22:39
I wish I could afford to go to the butchers for all our meat - I would state hands down it is far superior in every way bar longevity (which is understandable).
I'm sure there are many reasons to go with butchers cuts etc other than flavour but that and choice of cuts etc would be more than enough of a selling point for me- roll on to a time when I can afford to shop wherever I please! :D
Is there that much of a price difference between butchers meat and what you buy? I admit that my experience is very limited but for chicken breast the price seems to be very similar (ASDA £3.50 vs Butcher £4.00 for ~500g) with the only real exception being sausages though from the way they cook and taste I'd rather have 2 butcher sausages than 4 ASDA (Walls normally) sausages.
SidewinderINC
17-10-2009, 22:39
Well this is it Jingo, I'm gutted really as I won't be able to afford to eat chicken any more. It will be a rare occasion for me :( Boo.
But I just couldn't do it now... :(
Turkey is cheaper than chicken, leaner than chicken, and I've never seen a turkey battery farmed :p
Free range supermarket chicken is not a lot more expensive and often comes in bogof offers or similar :) or you can just buy what you need from the butcher, which will probably be cheaper for a portion of say, diced chicken breast for one/two than buying full breasts. Or, can't you just bury your head like you're going to with the duck? If you can do it for one, why not the other? ;)
there's absolutely no reason to cut it out due to cost, you just have to be smart & shop around.
TinkerBell
18-10-2009, 08:45
I wish I could afford to go to the butchers for all our meat - I would state hands down it is far superior in every way bar longevity (which is understandable).
I'm sure there are many reasons to go with butchers cuts etc other than flavour but that and choice of cuts etc would be more than enough of a selling point for me- roll on to a time when I can afford to shop wherever I please! :D
Well this is it Jingo, I'm gutted really as I won't be able to afford to eat chicken any more. It will be a rare occasion for me :( Boo.
But I just couldn't do it now... :(
Have you tried going to the butchers and seeing how much it would cost for the meat? I use the butchers down the road from me and it is only a little bit more expensive that the prices you get in Tesco, and it is awesome quality :)
I much prefer it, especially when you get to know them and have a little banter while you are there.
Chicken is normally a luxury anyway for me as it's expensive at the standard price :) So that "little bit more" is actually pushing the budget too far!
As for local butchers, I haven't been to ours in ages! But seeing as I'm moving soon I will wait til I figure out where I am before I look about. I know near my folks is a local farm shop which is brilliant :)
I am going to make a concious effort to go for free range duck in the future but if I can't afford it I will bury my head once in a while. It's a rare treat for me, where as chicken was a weekly thing. :) If I were to research all my meats I'm sure I would be put off an awful lot, so it would be super stupid for me to cut out things as once I started on one the whole lot would go and I would be broke!
At least I'm making an effort for one thing anyway - for me, in my mind I feel it's better than nothing (this is NO WAY a dig at people who canny afford chicken/buy standard as I've read soooo much about people buying free range only in the past and it's just gone over my head until last weekend! So I'm not one to talk if you know what I mean :))
I will only buy free range chicken, but always get legs/thighs because they're so much cheaper. In Tesco I think a pack of 4 thighs and 4 legs is about £2.80ish. Much tastier than the breast anyway IMHO.
My local butcher does skinnless boneless free range chicken thighs, so I get a job lot from there whenever I can. I can't say I've noticed the difference in price between my butcher and the supermarkets, but I never buy the value cuts anyway. Preferred supermarket for meat/fish is Morissons, but mine has a crap range of free range chicken so I get that from Tesco.
The best free range chicken I've bought supermarket wise was Sainsbo's, RSPCA approved chicken. By god it was tasty. 4 pack of breasts for four quid. Can't beat it, although M&S (oakham?) f/r chicken is scrumptious too.
You have to be careful with M&S because although their chicken is all Oakham, it's not all free range so you need to check the packets. The non free-range Oakham chickens are reared to RSPCA standards though with more room and stimuli to keep them busy (sounds like the Sains stuff), which IMHO is so much better than the life your regular Tesco Value chicken gets. They're also a slower growing breed. M&S do have some good offers on the free range stuff though - I know you've pointed that out to me before Tracy :)
We don't have a Sainsburys near us, but there's one on the way home (ish). Might have to pop in and see what they've got.
If I was still living in my old flat I'd go to the butchers several times a week, but now it's just a pain and I do buy it from the supermarket, but always go for the free range organic meat which doesn't really cost much more, and blind tested, does taste a whole damn site better.
I refuse to buy basics or eggs from caged hens etc... a) they don't taste as nice and b) I object to animals being treated badly.
Though I'm a bit of a hypocrite as I LOVE foi gras. But meh, it's tasty and up until they;re ready they've had a free range good life. I get over my guilt with the flavour of the food :o
I miss going to the butcher - but I just don't have time these days :( Whilst good food is a paramount priority for me, I still believe supermarkets can offer good quality, but evidently you pay a little more for it. :)
TinkerBell
19-10-2009, 21:33
I can't quite believe that chicken is a luxury, I can understand duck or steak and alcohol being a luxury but not chicken.
Why wait to go to the butchers, doesn't matter if you are in Exeter for years or a few weeks to get some good food. At least go and ask about how much it will cost. As a few people have said if you are clever with where you go and what you buy, it can work out to be pretty much the same price but for much better quality.
Regardless of whether you believe it, it can certainly be a luxury :) Was throughout most of my childhood and I can see it happening again quite soon too!
It's unfortunate but it can happen :/
We tend to get the RSPCA standard stuff when we can, although not as good as free range, it's what we can afford even after shopping around! Of course when the good deals come around, the freezer comes in so much handy :D
I can't quite believe that chicken is a luxury, I can understand duck or steak and alcohol being a luxury but not chicken.
Why wait to go to the butchers, doesn't matter if you are in Exeter for years or a few weeks to get some good food. At least go and ask about how much it will cost. As a few people have said if you are clever with where you go and what you buy, it can work out to be pretty much the same price but for much better quality.
Erm... that's a little judgemental of you Tink! It is a luxury for me - I have to budget everything else in order to buy chicken! Lately I haven't been able to afford it at all! The only meat I have been able to buy are things like offers on pork which has about 7-8 pork steaks in it - that's 7 - 8 meals for me! Where as a same priced packet of chicken will last me two, maybe three meals maximum.
Sorry but that comments made me quite angry... I literally haven't got any money at the moment and am doing everything I can to try and get myself work until a position comes up else where (despite having a position with the police). I am in the red and so for me pretty much everything I buy right now is a luxury. I do think "screw it" sometimes and buy stuff I can't afford and got further into the red... which is a bad management of dosh for me but I'm being level headed enough not to go out and buy stuff like chicken. It's all vegetables, milk, soup stuff and as said, maybe pork steaks (I've currently stocked up on quorn as it's been on offer so that's surviving me).
So - no matter whether the butcher can offer me the same price on chicken... and it be better quality... It's still a luxury!
Put it like this, I'm not rude enough to tell you what you could and couldn't afford - I don't know your situation. Sometimes I find you can be a little bit know it all with some of your comments and you really need to think a bit more about your posting. It's not all simple black and white as you think sometimes.
In short - don't tell me what's a luxury and what's not. I'm not stupid.
Princess Griff
20-10-2009, 11:17
I know what you mean about it being a luxury Pheebs :) We only buy it when its on offer!!!
Otherwise its £1.20 minced beef for us! :) Or whatever meat is on offer or in reduced section!!!
Yeah, I think compromising for the sake of buying some chicken is not worthwhile if it's going to be bad quality and not nutritious for you Pheebs. Unfortunately in general the better quality foods are more expensive, but personally I feel that I can't afford NOT to buy the better quality food, a) it tastes better b) I also despite likeing things like foi gras, have some moral guidance as to how my food is prepared and c) it's more nutritious.
All good foods are a luxury, which is why so many people don't eat well as they should, because they can't afford them. Shopping bills are painful :'(
I buy bags of frozen chicken pieces, 2 for £4 fresh chickens for a roast and the 'cheapest' eggs.
I would love to buy 'fresh free-range-diced to perfection-non caged-fed with grapes' chicken all the time but just can't afford it.
I'm a bad person! Yes, but when I am in the supermarket it all comes down to cost - so I guess fresh chicken is a luxury for us too!
In an ideal world I would love to make my chicken choices based on its upbringing, but for me, right now cost is my main decision maker.
I've watched those programmes before but unfortunately they get pushed to the back of my mind when shopping.
BB x
PS Foie Gras is ming :p
Couldn't agree more Mei Mei. Exactly it is a luxury - and why I rely on supermarket shopping as well. Though since I don't go out much and don't drink much, and don't have a mortgage to pay, I have a bit of spare money for slightly better food which is a priority for me and I feel able to buy the slightly better quality stuff. However I agree in an ideal world we'd all buy the best stuff we could - I still miss going to my butchers :(
Money is key ultimately isn't it? :(
PS Foi gras rocks! :D
Princess Griff
20-10-2009, 12:35
Haha oh BBx your not a bad person at all!!!
In the big supermarkets they seem to be selling less and less maltreated animal products! Its pretty much just basics that seem to be battery farmed etc! I always go for freerange eggs because the price difference is mere pennies, but with meats...the cost difference 'can' be huuuge!!! Obviously is freerange pampered meat is on offer then I will buy it!!
In an ideal world I would love to make my chicken choices based on its upbringing, but for me, right now cost is my main decision maker.
I've watched those programmes before but unfortunately they get pushed to the back of my mind when shopping.
^^ What she said.
Case in point, free range eggs, laid by chickens played soft music while being massaged by Swedish blondes £1.80 for 6
Barn eggs, chickens given a bit of room to move, and fed on chicken pellets. £1.80 for 10
Battery eggs, chickens 4 in a cage fed on their dead neighbours 99p for 15.
Give me tortured eggs anyday, they tase just as good between 2 slices of white and covered in ketchup.
Princess Griff
20-10-2009, 13:36
Which give me a great idea for lunch...mmmmmm! Thanks Fayshun!
leowyatt
20-10-2009, 14:37
I think this comes down to what people view as luxury and what they view as a necessity. We hardly drink and hardly go out so we can afford the luxury that is Chicken.
I don't doubt it is a luxury to some. We can afford it because we prioritise - we don't buy alcohol - at least very rarely, we rarely eat out and we don't go out drinking. Once every few months we'll go to a meet.
This is what makes the difference for us and allows us to buy the good meat. We buy pretty much everything else from Aldi/Lidl, and find that not wasting money on other things, allows us to make up the difference between f/r (or at least RSPCA standard) and bog-standard. Although if we're having a thin month, we'll just go to Costco and buy a bag of frozen breasts and use them for the month - although now I can tell the difference we tend to go without rather than buy cheap. Usually we have enough bought from good deals at the supermarkets then frozen to not need to (you can get some absolute crackers in the reduced section!)
Sometimes though, it's just a priority thing. Some people who say that they can't afford better cuts of meat actually could but prefer to spend it on other things - booze, nights out, holidays, etc. Then it's not a case of not being able to afford it, but wanting other things more. It's whatever is important to you that matters, and that's all that you should worry about. If you're happy with your decisions and your standard of living, then that's what matters most. It's a case of balance.
Edit: hehe, great minds Leo :D
I think this comes down to what people view as luxury and what they view as a necessity. We hardly drink and hardly go out so we can afford the luxury that is Chicken.
This - and also what Will said.
I'm sorry but I will not be told what values I have and what I can/can't afford and what is/is not a luxury. I accept some people can afford more than I and I also accept that some people can't afford some of the things I have. Hell a friend of mine can't afford TV License... she thinks the fact I have a TV and what not is fantastic. If she said to me "Wow, if I could only afford a TV, that would be a luxury" I wouldn't DREAM of turning around and saying "What? I can't believe you think it's a luxury"! That's just rude and insulting and would make me sound like a spoiled little brat.
Mei mei - I was the same as you! It doesn't make you a bad person at all!! :) I don't think it's bad at all! I just had the shock of meeting this dude... kind of really brought home a lot of stuff to me! I think if you met him your skin would have crawled too ;D I will still eat whatever chicken is put in front of me, just make a concious effort not to buy it unless I know it's free range :)
leowyatt
20-10-2009, 15:01
If she said to me "Wow, if I could only afford a TV, that would be a luxury" I wouldn't DREAM of turning around and saying "What? I can't believe you think it's a luxury"! That's just rude and insulting and would make me sound like a spoiled little brat.
Sorry Pheebs I just don't see it as rude and insulting? I just see that as you saying to your friend you don't see how a TV is a luxury :confused:
It devalues what they consider to be a luxury... which is insulting?!
leowyatt
20-10-2009, 15:08
It devalues what they consider to be a luxury... which is insulting?!
No it doesn't because they just have different priorities. If we take your example and compare it to new cars (which to me are a luxury) I don't feel insulted or devalued because I can't afford a new car.
But my priorities is eating? And paying bills... which I'm trying to keep to a minimum. So... it's insulting to me when someone says they "can't believe" it's a luxury! Why blooming well not?! Absolutely ridiculous and uneducated thing to say.
I would say it's comparable with how you may have felt about comments made about second hand used tyres...
Edit - Sorry Leo I am fuming. Really am. I don't mean to come across short to you if I am :)
leowyatt
20-10-2009, 15:17
I just think you are reading into this far far too much. Someone just said they couldn't believe chicken is treated as a luxury it was just an opinion. If you want to be fuming, be fuming at me too because I'm afraid I'm of the same opinion. I just don't see how chicken whether it be free-range, value or frozen can be seen as a luxury :/
I just think you are reading into this far far too much. Someone just said they couldn't believe chicken is treated as a luxury it was just an opinion. If you want to be fuming, be fuming at me too because I'm afraid I'm of the same opinion. I just don't see how chicken whether it be free-range, value or frozen can be seen as a luxury :/
Me too, I don't think it was meant in a hurtful way Pheebs.
Luxury food to me is food that can't be bought from a supermarket. The sort of stuff that you need to source locally, and order a month in advance. So in that way, I can't class chicken as a luxury either.
I still wouldn't tell someone they couldn't believe it was a luxury!?! Is it just me!?
I understand people have different values but that doesn't mean you shouldn't make other people feel pants about what their values are... which in the way I read Jaimes post came across as that. And a number of other people have said the same to me.
Maybe it's just two different ways of reading the post. I dunno. I would never belittle someone elses values though.
leowyatt
20-10-2009, 15:36
From where I'm sitting Pheebs I'm going to have to say yes I do think it is you. Just because someone has an opinion doesn't mean it's insulting or demeaning in anyway.
I personally don't see it as being insulting because she can't believe that chicken isn't a luxury. If you feel pants then I can't see how it has to do with what Jaime said because I see no malice in what she said, maybe it's just me!
Yeah, I would express my opinion, and say 'I don't think chicken is a luxury'. Nothing wrong with an opinion.
I think it's difficult to get your point across online, and very easy to read posts the wrong way.
Have you actually spoken to/messaged Jaime about it, or just ranted back at her on here?
Personally I found it a little abrupt more than anything. I'm sure Tink didn't mean it in that way but that's how it came across to me. Yet again (as has been covered hundreds of times before) it's all to do with how you phrase something.
Then again I'm in the 'can see how chicken can be a luxury' camp as I stated last night so maybe it's just me too :p
leowyatt
20-10-2009, 15:41
Sorry Haly I just don't see abrupt bit either. If she just didn't put the duck/steak bit at the end then yes I could agree that might be considered abrupt but not with what Jamie said.
I just can't see what the fuss is all about.
You don't have to apologise :) It's all to do with interpretation!
I think everyone just needs to relax and go eat some chicken, vegetables or quorn :p Or steak for the lucky ones ;)
Knipples
20-10-2009, 15:47
And Leo needs to go spell someones name right before she spots it! :p
Del Lardo
20-10-2009, 15:48
If a post can be taken in a negative manner I give the person the benefit of the doubt. We're all supposed to be friends on here and with people being from different walks of life there are always going to be misunderstandings which are only going to be made worse by looking at them negatively.
leowyatt
20-10-2009, 15:50
And Leo needs to go spell someones name right before she spots it! :p
What was that now? ;)
:p Crikey bit heated in here
BTW, Tesco have half-price Lakeland chicken breasts for £2.99 - get it while it lasts :D
I quite like things like chicken pie that use the whole chicken though, can get some great deals on reduced whole chickens, made this at the weekend and it fed 4 hungry lads very well indeed, nomnomnom
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3230/chicken-and-leek-pie
TinkerBell
20-10-2009, 15:58
I have bit my tongue and not said anything in here as I don't think I have said anything wrong, I am sorry if people have taken offence, but that isn't how it was meant.
It looks like I am not the only one who doesn't think that Chicken is a luxury, mearly a staple food, so I think it is just a matter of opinion and different people see it from different sides.
Vix she has talked to me, if that is what you can call it. She didn't want to listen to what I meant to say and prefered to say what a lovely person I am :) I have tryed my best to show that it is merely an opinion that chicken isn't a luxury and that other things like going out and having alcohol is a luxury to me, but nevermind.
P.S Leo, it's Jaime ;) :p
I remember a time when I considered anything other than 8p noodles & beans on toast to be a luxury so I can see why it would grate to think someone is doubting that (some cheeky bastard called me a pauper when I told him :/) but honestly pheebs, I don't think Tink meant anything by it, it was just her explaining that she's never thought of it as a luxury, rather other things are, but not that you shouldn't :)
I have to say that I completely understand why Pheebs could have taken that negatively. I think it was the intonation of being so stupefied at the concept of high quality meat being a luxury that came across badly. Had Pheebs said low quality runt-chicken, then I'd probably have thought that Clare was being silly to react that way - but we're not.
But anyway, all has been said about it that needs to. People have different priorities and where people can people prefer to buy good quality meats, some go without as a compromise, and some are happy to buy the cheaper meats - everyone has their balance and priority/cut off. For me it's good quality meet at the sake of other things... for Clare it's not going down to the common denominator and buy inferior meat for moral and personal reasons - it's perfectly valid, and as such can't afford the luxury of high quality chicken so has gone without.
High quality foods will always be a luxury - that's why lots of people go to iceland :p
*sigh*
More on my plate (haw haw) to worry about than silly quarrels like this. I find it insulting, some others agree, some don't. I've said my opinion, others have said there's, I'm seeing circles being run sooo there's no point in continuing this.
Back to chicken... Rich - that does sound cheap! Wicked stuff!
I love a good quality meet too Will ;)
I love a good quality meet too Will ;)
So I hear... but if you want high quality beef, then you know where to call for a bit of pork, don't be chicken, and I won't boar you.
Knipples
20-10-2009, 16:06
I love a good quality meet too Will ;)
Not long now baby!!! :D
Not long now baby!!! :D
She's already been :p
Knipples
20-10-2009, 16:06
So I hear... but if you want high quality beef, then you know where to call for a bit of pork, don't be chicken, and I won't boar you.
*hands Will his coat* ;)
I thought the point poor ol' Tink was making was that if you go to a butcher you can get better quality chicken at the same price as the supermarket 'farmed', so you can have the 'luxury' chicken at the 'non-luxury' price if you shop carefully - hence why chicken could be considered a 'staple'. :p At least that's how I read it anyway!
*hands Will his coat* ;)
Nothing like a bit of fishing in the morning for a duck ;)
Knipples
20-10-2009, 16:13
Oh dearie me, must get my brain out of the gutter, I read that sentence so differently the first time I read it :o
Oh dearie me, must get my brain out of the gutter, I read that sentence so differently the first time I read it :o
That was the idea :evil::evil::evil: :cool:
Knipples
20-10-2009, 16:14
That was the idea :evil::evil::evil: :cool:
*goes for a lie down*
Rich, that chicken, bacon & leek pie looks delish! I've made another version before with just cubed thighs, but this looks really scrummy. Will have to find an excuse to cook it for ma famille :)
leowyatt
20-10-2009, 19:15
Will have to find an excuse to cook it for ma famille :)
Bugger that! Make it for your friends no excuse needed ;D
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