Slow Food home | About us | Foundation | Editore | Sloweb | Press Office | Store     Sloweb     Home | Sloweek | Voices from the Slow world | Slow Talk | News | Watch & Listen             Battery Bargains 11 Feb 08 - Sloweb Britain’s largest supermarket chain yesterday cut the price of whole ‘standard’ chickens by 60% to just £1.99, in a move that critics argue will impede improvements to the welfare of factory-farmed birds. Tesco announced that the promotion would be offered until next Sunday as a way of assisting struggling, low-income families. However, while a family of four can now eat a roast dinner for just 99p per person, the price cuts will bring considerable financial pressure to the poultry industry. Farmers, currently making just 2p per chicken in profit, will be pushed to the limit by the £1.99 price which has been deemed unrealistic by advocacy groups. Animal welfare group, Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) is encouraging Tesco to look at price reduction of higher-welfare chicken rather than focusing on competition at the bottom end of the market. CIWF stated that the arrival of the £1.99 bird is ‘depressing’, as it follows a month of awareness-raising and significant increases in free-range chicken sales in Britain. This has transpired following the recent screening of Hugh’s Chicken Run, a television series that compares the cramped, painful lives of the nation’s 800 million broiler chickens to their free-range counterparts. Tesco argues that, while it has been promoting higher-welfare chicken sales, there is no reason why it shouldn’t also provide more affordable options. ‘No one should feel guilty for buying a chicken just because it is good value. The only reduction we make is in the price, not the welfare,’ said company spokesperson Jonathon Church. While Tesco refused to respond to a £2 chicken offer from competitor Asda last year, there are fears that this current promotion could prompt a supermarket price war. A spokeswoman for Asda stated: ‘We always endeavor to be best on price. As far as I know we have no plans to cut prices, but it might all change tomorrow’. Source: Independent   News archive from Terramadre News archive from Slowfood Foundation for Biodiversity News archive from University of Gastronomic Sciences News archive from Watch & Listen           News     Bulgaria - 27 Jul 10     Brotherhood Across the Balkans     A communal desire to support small-scale traditional producers in the face of growing threats from regulations and the food industry united food communities from ten countries across the...           News archive     Italy - 22 Jul 10     Dream Canteens     Slow Food buildings a strong network of schools putting good, clean and fair in the canteen ...     Belgium - 16 Jul 10     A Slow Voice in Policy Reform     Slow Food President Carlo Petrini participates in a public debate conference on Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy ...     Denmark - 14 Jul 10     Convivial Danes     Danish convivial join the country’s largest fair of artisan producers to share the Slow Food message ...     Argentina - 08 Jul 10     Flavors from the Andes to Patagonia     Terra Madre Argentina unites producers, cooks, academics and consumers in Buenos Aires ...     Macedonia - 02 Jul 10     Preserving Figs and a Gastronomic Heritage     The Wild Fig Slatko Presidium is created to protect a traditional preserve ...     Croatia - 23 Jun 10     Thank you for Everything, Giani     Farewell to Giani Banich, a friend and dynamic figure in the Slow Food movement ...     Archive previous news   Slow Food 2010 - All rights reserved - P.iva 91008360041 - Powered by Blulab