Animal welfare - s fowl dinners

July 23, 2008

I support the RSPCA, so I am going to watch this tonight. 's Fowl Dinners 9.30pm TONIGHT!!!

ShareToday at 2:51pm

's Fowl Dinners

9.30pm Wednesday Channel 10

This Wednesday Oliver will empower Australian consumers with the

knowledge to help them make informed decisions that will improve the

lives of millions of layer and meat chickens across the country.

's Fowl Dinners is a challenging look at the poultry industry and

aims to tell shoppers the truth about where their food comes from.

"In terms of what I hope to achieve, I think if even a small percentage

of people watching were informed and decided to shop differently as a

result, then that would make a real difference," Oliver said.

RSPCA Australia fully supports the celebrity chef and animal welfare

advocate in his bid to educate people about how their food is farmed.

The RSPCA's Chief Scientist, Dr Bidda , said there are 11.6

million egg laying hens in Australia leading miserable lives in cages

and consumers have the power to get them out.

"The welfare of most meat chickens, or broilers, is also significantly

compromised in Australia, with the majority of broilers farmed

intensively in sheds," Dr said.

"People need to be able to make an informed decision at the

supermarket. They can't do that unless they are given all the

information, until animal-welfare products are more readily available

and, importantly, they are able to trust product labelling."

said one of the biggest problems is that people have become

accustomed to paying a pittance for their eggs and meat, forcing many

farmers to produce them intensively, at a low cost.

"I'm not asking people to pay three times as much, just what they can

afford. It's morally better for the animal and it's morally better for

the producers, because I haven't met a farmer yet who wouldn't love to

move up to a better welfare situation for their animals."

He said he appreciates the program may be confronting for some people but it's a story that needs to be told.

"I don't think it's sensational to show people the reality of how

chickens live and die at the moment. It may be upsetting for some

people, but that's how things are. And if seeing some of the practices

helps to change the shopping habits of just 5% of people watching, then

it will be worth it," said.

The RSPCA encourages all people to tune in to Channel 10 this Wednesday at 9:30pm.

For more information visit www.rspca.org.au

Recommended Posts