Jamie Oliver apologises to Sainsbury's

This is what happens when a powerful supermarket teams up with a highly individual and outspoken celebrity chef. If the outspoken chef goes off message the supermarket gets a bit narked. Currently Jamie Oliver is helping to boost awareness for the plight of chickens in battery cages and to push the purchasing of free range birds. Sainsbury's are, to their credit, trying to help, but they are still wary of customer reaction. After all, many of their customers are on low incomes so the cheap chicken deals are still attractive.

Oliver criticised the supermarket for refusing to take part in his TV debate, Jamie's Fowl Dinners, about battery bred chickens. He told reporters: "It is shocking that the people that I work for did not turn up on the day. I do not know why." However, the firm had claims it did cooperate with the show but admitted it did not participate in the debate.

A heated discussion has taken place apparently, but things are calmer now. Justin King, CEO of Sainsbury's is not totally hacked off with him, but he does have a £1.2 million contract to use as as a 'debating' prop!

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Jamie Oliver's Chicken Chat

I'm watching Channel 4's excellent programme Hugh's Chicken Run with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. It's running over three nights. Last night's show had him inviting Jamie Oliver to the chicken shed which the birds are tightly packed into. It's not pleasant for them, and Oliver was on good form in articulating their plight. Double-Barrell asked him if he'd like to cook one of them. "I've just seen Charlie here shit on his mate! NO! I wouldn't want to cook 'im". Hugh then asked Oliver what he thought of such an operation. Jamie looked down at the floor, with a carpet of white feathers before him. "Well, they're incredibly unfit freaks of nature!" came the reply.

That kind of summed it all up for me. Wretched existence for the birds, and when it comes down to value for money, not a lot in it over the free range birds. As a family, we went towards the free range some while ago. As the show pointed out, they taste better and they go further menu-wise.

Who exactly is kidding whom in this industry? One thing is for sure - they've got people working in it who are prepared to threaten others for publicising the trade!

See also the realities of egg production, as Jamie Oliver suffocates chicks on TV -

Did you know about this? I think Jamie puts it over quite well, without any sensationalism.



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