The domestic chicken (a derivative of the Himalayan Jungle fowl) is, on the basis of shear numbers, the most successful species associated with our own (although relatively few live as the birds shown in the above picture). Admittedly, the success is based on humans eating both the eggs and flesh they produce. There has, however, been a recent uproar caused by reports claiming that some companies (dealing with a wide range of UK supermarkets) mislead customers with respect to the age of the meat and its safety (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/29/chicken-safety-scandal-2-sisters-faces-parliamentary-inquiry-after-revealations). Chicken products can carry risks associated with bacterial (salmonella) and viral factors (bird 'flu). The drive for cheaper and cheaper products appears to make producers 'cut corners' (people might well remember the recent thus about using banned insecticides to control parasites on chicken flocks in The Netherlands). It is a sad fact that people on low incomes are particularly likely to suffer health consequences from some of these practises (although the UK scandal might well have also impacted on some of the more comfortably off). Cheap does not allows have to mean nasty but we should, perhaps, be prepared to pay a little more for safety.
This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Saturday 30 September 2017
Chickens Come Home to Roost
The domestic chicken (a derivative of the Himalayan Jungle fowl) is, on the basis of shear numbers, the most successful species associated with our own (although relatively few live as the birds shown in the above picture). Admittedly, the success is based on humans eating both the eggs and flesh they produce. There has, however, been a recent uproar caused by reports claiming that some companies (dealing with a wide range of UK supermarkets) mislead customers with respect to the age of the meat and its safety (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/29/chicken-safety-scandal-2-sisters-faces-parliamentary-inquiry-after-revealations). Chicken products can carry risks associated with bacterial (salmonella) and viral factors (bird 'flu). The drive for cheaper and cheaper products appears to make producers 'cut corners' (people might well remember the recent thus about using banned insecticides to control parasites on chicken flocks in The Netherlands). It is a sad fact that people on low incomes are particularly likely to suffer health consequences from some of these practises (although the UK scandal might well have also impacted on some of the more comfortably off). Cheap does not allows have to mean nasty but we should, perhaps, be prepared to pay a little more for safety.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Seeing the Changes 2011
More action at Crymlyn Burrows with Thrift ( Armeria maritima ); Kidney vetch ( Anthyllis vulneraria ) and a Hawkweed ( Hieracium exoter...
-
The UK government continue their quest to turn England's rivers back into sewers. They first facilitated the privatised water companies...
-
Garden plants in France, The Netherlands, The UK and Sikkim (NE India).
No comments:
Post a Comment