FWiSpace forum member shares experiences of Kill it, Cook it, Eat it

The TV programme Kill it, Cook it, Eat it has already generated a lively discussion among farmers.

The show, screened on BB3 every night this week, claims “to uncover the facts” about how meat is prepared in the UK.

But it has already sparked controversy by choosing to focus on what it calls the slaughter of “baby animals” such as suckling pigs and milk-fed lamb, even though these are niche markets in the UK.

SDM, a regular participant on the FWiSpace discussion forums attended filming of one of the episodes. FWi asked him to share his experiences:

Did you watch the first series and what did you think of it?

I did watch the first series last year and I found it very informative as although I have worked in the agricultural industry I had never seen the slaughter process. Obviously I had a vague idea of what happened but it cleared up a few grey areas for me.

How did you end up in the audience of one of this year’s shows?

I ended up in the audience on this series through the discussion on the FWi forum. I emailed the production team, who sent me a form to fill in and then we had a chat over the phone. I went up to Manchester with my friend and they put us up in a hotel and we went the next day and watched the show being filmed.

Which show was it you saw filmed?

I went to see the milk-fed lambs.

What did you expect to get out of the experience?

I wanted to see the slaughter process first hand rather than relying on the possible edited footage from last year’s show. As I had never heard of milk-fed lambs as a product, I was also interested to see what age they were being slaughtered, the size of the carcass, carcass weight and I also wanted to try the lamb once it had been cooked.

What were you shown during the show and how did you feel about it?

We were shown a video of the animals on the farm and then the presenter and the vet walked through the slaughter house following the route the lambs were about to be taken explaining the process as they went. The vet and presenter then went outside to the pen of animals where they checked them out and the vet said what he was looking for and wasn’t looking for.

They then took a few animals out of the pen and took them up to the slaughterhouse, where we watched the entire slaughter process. For the stunning, they started off using a head clamp-type stunner that they would normally use for sheep, but as the heads were too small they turned to a bolt gun as they weren’t convinced the clamp was doing a good enough job. If this is all shown on TV it might ruffle a few feathers.

We then saw the lambs being skinned and gutted which is a very impressive sight. The carcasses were then stamped and hung up. They were put in a cold room while we had a discussion about what we had seen. When they were brought out, the butcher showed us the different cuts of the meat and then the chef prepared a few dishes in a few different ways so we could eat the lamb.

One or two of the lambs were closer in size to the lambs normally sent to slaughter. But the rest were fairly small and I think there was a token very small lamb, possibly added for effect, to try and stir some emotion. I didn’t have a problem with the size or age of the lambs and if there is a niche market for UK farmers to produce this meat for posh restaurants then they should do so. As far as taste, it was quite sweet and almost sickly, but I wouldn’t pay the prices it would cost in a restaurant over some normal grass-fed lamb.

How did the other people there feel about it? What sort of people were in the audience?

Most people there were pro-farming and meat eaters. One lad didn’t like watching the animals being slaughtered – he watched two and then felt he had to leave and one girl wouldn’t watch it at all. But everyone else seemed to be OK with it. The general feeling among the farming folk was why slaughter an animal so young as it was a waste of potential, if it was sold at half the carcass weight of a normal lamb. But I asked what price they were getting for the meat and they got 2-3 times more, so economically it made sense.

Was there anything that shocked you/that you hadn’t realised?

After watching the first series which focused more on the actual slaughter process rather than just the type of animal being slaughtered I wasn’t shocked by what I saw.

What impression did you get of the people making the programme and what they were trying to achieve?

The people making the programme were very professional, the presenter was very good and she asked the right questions, reacted well to answers with other questions and what she was seeing. I think they were trying to see if people thought that morally the animals were too young to be killed.

Do you think this kind of programme is a good idea?

I thought the idea of the first series was a better one than this one, as it helped people understand what actually happens in a slaughterhouse and where their meat comes from. It also covered other issues such as welfare and it showed that the killing of them is quick and stress free. The second series won’t really do this as it is more emotive as they were using “baby” animals, although I don’t think it will affect the farming industry in a bad way at all.

Any concerns about the experience?

Apart from hoping my hair looks OK on TV, I have no worries about the programme at all.

• Did you watch any of the show? Or how about Channel 4’s Hugh’s Chicken Run? What did you think? Let us know on the forums?
• Watch Monday’s Kill it, Cook it, Eat it show again.