For me it was an eye opener.

Did I know how the industry worked in Australia? No. Are we any better than England when it came down to our industry? I intend to find out!

As shocked as I was to see them gas the male chickens, he got through to me that from the egg producer’s point of business, it was necessary to cull them and that was the most humane way possible. He also showed us that nature’s food chain was at work with feeding them to the snake.

Was he trying to put anyone out of business? No, not in my opinion.

I felt his real focus was on trying to make the consumers in his country aware of what the hens and the egg producers have to go through so they can have their eggs and chickens at the price they are sold (three pence was all the producer received for the chicken).

He also pointed out that if they were to pay a few pence more, both the hens and the eggs would be a better quality. If their needs were able to be met with better cages, perches and even sunshine, like the cows, contentment produced a better product.

I believe he was putting the bigger supermarkets on blame as they use the industry to gain customers by undercutting these products and not paying the producers what they should and what they need to produce at the standards required to supply quality goods.

Labelling to let the consumer know that eggs or chickens are caged or free range is a safety valve for the industry, in my opinion, but if the consumer is unaware of the facts it is a waste of time and money.

What I would have liked to have heard from egg producer Bede Burke in his article was not an attack on Jamie’s show, or how much money he has spent on cages so as to comply with the regulations, but how we in Australia can be assured that our caged bird egg industry is better than England’s because of the difference in regulations. This will give Australian consumers the confidence in his products and his livelihood will not be in danger. To say that Jamie was passionate about destroying an industry is dribble. Shaking the industry up so it produces (in healthy and humane conditions) eggs and chickens that have good nutrient value for people to eat, is what he did And in my opinion did it well and I congratulate him on putting it on the line.

Will I change my buying habits? It is food for thought!

Brenda Lillyman

TAMWORTH