Jamie Oliver, a.k.a. the Naked Chef, has a bone to pick with the chicken industry. A trip to a chicken farm last fall propelled Oliver into a crusade to make living conditions less foul for England's ... well, fowl. The pouty lipped chef is pictured on a his website cozying up next to a hen.The Naked Chef asks the citizens of England to pony up the extra pound it takes to buy a free range chicken over a broiler that is conventionally farmed. Oliver notes that free range birds have more space to roam, natural light and "stuff to do."
A typical broiler takes five weeks to reach slaughter weight thanks to genetic engineering. This growth period is half as long as the typical chicken of the 1950's and puts a lot of strain on the health of the bird. Additionally, chickens are bred to have a disproportionate amount of breast tissue which causes moderate to severe leg disorders.
Jamie Oliver has produced Jamie's Fowl Dinners that will air in England on January 11th. He hopes that the informative show will encourage people to change their ways and demand that the old way of raising chickens will fly the coop. Brits, however, might become a bit peckish when told that their favorite, inexpensive meat could cost them more, if Oliver has his way.
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