Jamie Oliver: Chicken Out!

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Americans might increasingly be concerned about the (relatively pleasant) life of ducks and geese used to make foie gras – a delicacy eaten by relatively few. In the UK, it's all about chickens. How important are chickens? In the UK the plight of factory or battery chickens is big news. British chefs Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall launched a campaign to get people to stop buying factory chickens and start buying barnyard, organic or free range. Hugh's program was Hugh's Chicken Run explored the life cycle of factory birds in a three-part special on Channel 4. In Jamie's Fowl Dinners, a special one hour TV show also on Channel 4 aired in the UK last week, the chef gasses chicks, and stuns and slaughters adult birds. The show was meant to shock viewers and get them to stop buying chickens reared in poor conditions – to spend a pound more to buy chicken reared in humane conditions. The results of the stunt were felt by British retailers. According to the Telegraph: A Tesco spokesman said: "This week, daily national sales of standard whole birds are running approximately 7 per cent above the November 2007 daily average." Sales of its Willow Farm whole birds, which offer higher standards of animal welfare, are slightly up as a proportion of chicken sales. British retailers are also doing away with eggs laid by battery hens. But a debate on chicken quickly turned to a debate on the use of celebrity chefs as spokespeople for companies. Jamie lambasted Sainsbury's for not joining him in a debate on battery chickens. He was quoted widely as saying: "It's shocking the people I work for didn't turn up on the day." Unfortunately for Jamie, Sainsbury's also pays Jamie 1.2 million pounds a year to encourage his fans to shop at the supermarket chain. Sainsbury's first reaction was anger, but they quickly turned the situation around. According to Reuters Jamie wrote an open letter sent to all 150,000 Sainsbury employees prior to the documentary airing, praising the company for its actions on the issue, saying it had the most to be proud of. Sainsbury's CEO, Justin King followed up with an appearance on morning TV. He told Reuters: His independence of mind and independence of spirit and preparedness to stand up and be vocal is what makes him so valuable. When he says things about Sainsbury's people believe it is what he really thinks. That is part of his power. It still isn't clear that Sainsbury's will renew its contract with Jamie. King only said, "Ask me again in April." Jamie is a controversial chef. He spearheaded a campaign to better British school food. He opened an international chain of restaurants called 15, which employ underprivileged youth. But what makes him a good spokesperson is what makes him a poor spokesperson: he is independent. The questions that remain are: will the UK's chicken outcry travel across the Atlantic? What chef, if not Jamie, will pick up the battle cry against poor poultry practices in the US? Will anit-foie gras campaigners turn to a more significant, if only by volume, ingredient in our diets? Will Americans stand for being told what to buy and what not to buy? Finally, when will American food TV become as controversial, meaningful, and interesting as British food TV? Related news: New York Times Reuters Times OnLine Telegraph icWales Sunday Herald Guardian Previous articles: Jamie Oliver: Jamie At Home Jamie Oliver: Cook with Jamie Jamie Oliver Cartoon By Aardman Jamie Oliver Betters British School Food FOOD PIX: Jamie Oliver Fat Suit Nora Sands: Nora's Dinners Jamie Oliver Signs Sainsbury's Jamie Oliver New Year: School Lunch Jamie Oliver on Vodafone Live! Jamie Oliver: Real Guts Fat Lady Sings Jamie Oliver Jamie Oliver: School Lunch July 4: East Meets West Wall Street Journal: Beef over Chef Sponsorship? Amazon UK's Steamy Xmas Chefs [Food Television - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, Jamie Oliver, Sainsbury --> back to Super Chef