KFC - You have it in your power to make chickens happier! But you do make nice chicken... (Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC))

Member Name: jmarko

Product:	Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
Date:	13/08/08 (335 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great taste

Disadvantages: Unhealthy; dreadful chips; worst of all, they are propping up low welfare standards for chickens

Bear with me on this one - I am going to write this in a slightly different way to usual...

---KFC - A personal view---

Right, here are the facts as I see them:

1 - I LOVE KFC!
2 - I have to walk past a KFC every day on my way home from work - this is a very bad thing.
3 - I LOVE KFC!

Here are some more important facts:

1 - KFC are one of the countries largest purchasers of chicken.
2 - All of their chicken options are made from chickens who spend their entire lives in a cramped shed with no natural light in really bad conditions.

Here is a final fact before I get on with the rest of the review:

1 - I will not buy KFC until there is a free range option.

---KFC - A proper review---

KFC (or PFK - Poulet Frit du Kentucky - if you are in Quebec!) has been serving up various sorts of fried chicken since the 1930's. Their chicken is deep fried and covered in a secret recipe of eleven herbs and spices. Essentially, you are either going to buy chicken pieces, chicken strips, wings, nuggets or popcorn chicken - and in some places, they also sell chicken kebabs.

In addition, they sell various side orders, including a coleslaw that was recently found to have more calories than the chicken! Recently, on the health front, KFC has announced that it has moved away from frying in oils high in trans-fats to use more healthy options (bear in mind that when you are deep frying, 'more healthy' is a relative concept!).

KFC Interesting Fact - the first KFC in the UK was opened in Preston in 1965.

The problem for me with KFC is that it tastes so good. I know that it's bad for me but the salty, spicy, fried badness of it is just so darned good!

I should probably mention here that they also sell the world's worst, nasty soggy tasteless chips. Avoid them at all costs.

Right, here's my position on KFC. When they started the move away from using trans-fats in their cooking oil, it was said by the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (a US lobby group), "If KFC, which deep-fries almost everything, can get the artificial trans fat out of its frying oil, anyone can". It is a compelling argument.

I think that, in the same way that KFC have led on using healthier oils, if they, as one of the largest purchasers of chickens that there is, decided to introduce better welfare standards, it would boost the free range and ethical meat industry massively. They have that in their power. They could even take a partial step by making available a free range option whilst upgrading the rest to something more welfare friendly.

As it is, they continue to defend their position by passing the buck to their suppliers - saying that they have to follow certain standards. Well, it's not good enough. I think that KFC should set the standards - after all, they are the ones that decide what to buy.

I know that this review is a little (!) preachy but I really believe that if a few of the main purchasers of chickens made a stand, then others would take notice.

One other thing is the price. As far as fast food goes, KFC is not cheap. One person would expect to pay about a fiver to eat - although three could get fed for a tenner.

---Conclusion---

I love KFC. I love the taste and the greasiness! I cannot stand the chips and I know that the drink is a little disappointing but the secret recipe formula is good.

I am happy to eat something that I know is bad for me - that is my choice. Give the chickens a better life.

In the meantime, they are not getting my custom. I walk past that place every day on the way home from work and I can smell it and it makes my mouth water but I will not stop. Not until they do!

---Postscript---

Of course, this all begs the question, what do you do when you NEED a KFC? Well, I hope that this helps! :o)

300g sifted flour
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons onion salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon each of dried powdered rosemary and dried powdered thyme
1 teaspoon each of dried parsley, salt and ground black pepper

By the way, the other thing you need to make it even closer is MSG - but you might want to give that a miss because the above mixture is pretty good. Enjoy!

Summary: I'm avoiding them until they make a stand on chicken welfare