Hugh's chicken plea finally reaches Tesco AGM
The lovely people at Compassion in World Farming dropped me a line today to remind us all about Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall's imminent challenge to Tesco, tabled for the chain's AGM this afternoon. So as you chomp away at your egg mayo sarnie, the fate of chickens all over the UK is at stake.
You may remember that Hugh was asking for support from the public earlier in the month to raise the necessary funds for the rare priviledge of talking to Tesco about chickens. The good news is that he's made it, and can now go ahead and put his resolution to the Tesco board. The resolution calls on Tesco to adopt RSPCA Freedom Food standards or equivalent as the minimum for their standard chickens.
By moving the minimum standards to meet Freedom Food or equivalent, Tesco could eliminate many of the welfare issues associated with intensive systems and would be more able to truly fulfil the statements published on the welfare of the chickens it sells. But will it take any notice? Tesco currently sells more intensively reared chicken than any other retailer in the UK, and makes a habit out of covering up the facts. It claims that all its poultry farms uphold the Five Freedoms, as set out by the Farm Animal Welfare Council, and yet their standards do not even meet DEFRA's own recommended guidelines for standard poultry sheds.
I'll be watching out for what comes of the AGM, but in the meantime, you can still take action yourself. Visit Compassion in World Farming's Tesco page here for some suggestions.
