Food for Thought

There is no escaping the current media coverage on the campaign for free range chicken farming, and it is certainly food for thought. Essex has its own expert; Ian Chisholm, who owns and runs Chicken Farm, producing free range eggs from his farm in Norton Heath. Ian is also behind the hugely successful series of Essex and London Farmers markets up and down the county and is wholly committed to the food revolution. Ten years ago, Ian was a successful London market trader – a far cry from the green pastures of rural Essex, so what led to the change?

‘Initially my wife Julie and I just wanted a better life for our family,’ says Ian. ‘I was working long hours as a market trader, and as well as wanting to change our lifestyle we wanted our children to grow up on a working farm. We found 25 acres of land at Norton Heath and knew it was the perfect site for us to start a new life and run a free-range business.’

While many other food producers were moving towards intensive methods, Ian started at grass roots and set about building barns for his free-range chickens to start laying their first eggs. The working life of Ian’s birds is a far cry from intensively farmed battery hens, who spend their lives caged, and without access to open space, fresh air and light, as Ian explains:

‘Our hens have a really happy working life’, he says. ‘They live in a large barn with clean and dry nest boxes, their own space and access to food and water all day. During daylight the birds are free to roam outside in the fields, where they can scratch about, relax and explore their surroundings. We use a special high-protein diet, because whereas caged birds get little or no exercise, our birds are outside roaming all day and use up much more energy, which needs to be reflected in their diet. You could say that an egg is an egg, but with free range there is a real difference in quality and taste, and of course the eggs are ethically produced.

This growing awareness on food production has been reflected in the industry and unprecedented growth for Ian’s Essex and London Farmers Markets. ‘I think people are ready for change,’ he says. ‘Consumers had really lost touch with where their food was coming from, but they are becoming more aware and making responsible choices about the source of what they are eating and the lives of the animals involved. At a farmers market customers are buying direct from the grower or producer and they can ask questions about how the food is sourced. They know their purchases are farm fresh, ethically produced and really good quality. It’s great food without compromise, and the buyer’s only real surprise is at how reasonable the prices are at the markets.’ For more information, contact Ian on 01277 362414 or log on to www.essexfarmersmarkets.com


Norton Field Farm