Top chefs are trying to change the way we eat by calling attention to how animals are raised for meat. In Britain, Jamie Oliver killed a chicken on live television, and supermarkets across the UK sold out of free-range chickens and eggs. The New York Times reports it’s part of a movement by some chefs to become more involved with their food—before it’s killed.
Part of what leads to inhumane conditions for animals is the consumer’s insistence on cheap food. “It only costs a bit more to give a chicken a natural life and a reasonably pleasant death,” said Oliver before he offed his bird. Meanwhile, other chefs are experimenting with raising and killing their own animals to guarantee them better treatment. Plus, chefs believe animals raised happy and healthy taste better.