Tesco 2008 AGM: Barack Obama Sends Second Letter to Tesco CEO Requesting the Company Meet With U.S. UFCW Union Leaders About Fresh & Easy

U.S. Democratic Party nominee-apparent for President and United States Senator Barack Obama has written a second letter to Tesco PLC CEO Sir Terry Leahy on the eve of Tesco's 2008 Annual General Meeting (AGM), asking the global retail company chief to advise his executives at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA to engage and meet with leaders of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union in order to discuss the union's desire to organize store-level workers at the current 61 Fresh & Easy grocery stores in California, Nevada and Arizona.

The UFCW represents 1.3 million retail clerks at union supermarkets in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. The supermarket chains include the top three in the U.S.: Kroger Co., SuperValu, Inc. and Safeway Stores, Inc., along with numerous others.

In the letter to Tesco CEO Leahy, Senator Obama writes: "I again urge you to reconsider your policy of non-engagement in the United States and advise your executives at Fresh & Easy to meet with the UFCW. I am aware of Tesco's reputation in Britain as a partner to unions. I would hope that you would bring those values to your work in America."

The "again" Senator Obama is referring to in his letter to Mr. Leahy is in regard to the fact this is the second letter to Tesco corporate and its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA division the Democratic nominee for President has written about the union issue and Fresh & Easy.

As we reported in this February 8 piece, "Leading Democratic Candidate for President Barack Obama Joins Group in Asking Tesco's Fresh & Easy to Put More Stores in Underserved Neighborhoods," Senator Obama wrote both CEO Leahy and Tim Mason, CEO of Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA, urging them to locate more Fresh & Easy grocery stores in underserved or "food desert" neighborhoods as the retailer has said it will, along with urging the executives to meet with UFCW leaders.

At the time, Senator Obama was still struggling against multiple Democratic Party candidates, with Senator Hillary Clinton thought to be the favorite, for the Democratic party Presidential nomination.

The UFCW originally supported former U.S. Senator John Edwards to be the Democrat's 2008 nominee. Mr. Edwards was Senator John Kerry's Vice Presidential running mate in 2004. They were defeated by the George W. Bush-Dick Cheney Republican ticket.

However, when Mr. Edwards dropped out of the race earlier this year, the UFCW put its support behind Senator Obama, helping him with significant fund raising and grass roots support to defeat Senator Clinton for the Democratic Party nomination, which he will officially be given at the Democratic party convention later this summer.

As we've reported on Fresh & Easy Buzz, to date Tesco has refused to meet with UFCW executives to discuss the potential unionization of Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market workers in the U.S. U.S. labor laws don't require a company to do so.

The second letter from Senator Obama to Tesco, asking CEO Leahy to have his senior executives meet with UFCW representatives, comes on the eve of Tesco's Annual General Meeting (AGM), which is tomorrow in the UK.

As we reported in this June 22 piece, "Vocal Cast of Critics and Advocacy Groups to Attend Tesco's Annual General Meeting On Friday, June 27," Joseph Hanson, the Washington, D.C-based president of the UFCW union, plans on attending Tesco's AGM tomorrow at the Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, UK.

Commenting on Senator Obama's letter to Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy, Mr. Hanson says: "Senator Obama's support for our campaign is welcome and timely. Tesco's UK investors should now be asking Sir Terry Leahy at the company's AGM whether it is really in Tesco's long-term business interests to continue its policy of non-engagement with union and community groups in America.

"Tesco's business conduct in America is on the radar of the man who could be the next president. It really is time for investors to start asking Tesco's chief executive hard questions about the company's business judgments."

As we reported in this June 4 piece, "News and Analysis: UFCW Union Takes its Tesco Union Organizing Campaign Across the Pond to the United Kingdom Beginning Today," The UFCW launched a public relations campaign in the UK on June 4 designed to bring Tesco and its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA division to the table to discuss the union issue just ahead of tomorrow's AGM, which union president Hanson will attend, along with numerous aids and supporters.

The UFCW's UK campaign, Senator Obama's second letter to CEO Leahy, the planned press conference and demonstration at tomorrow's annual meeting, and the union's campaign back home in the U.S. since November of last year, all are designed and coordinated it would appear to bring maximum pressure on Tesco agree to sit down at the table and talk with UFCW leaders.

Thus far though Tesco has kept to the same position and statement it's had all along regarding the union issue, which is that the UFCW is free to organize Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market store-level employees within the bounds of U.S. labor laws, and that it is up to the store employees as to whether they want to organize a petition drive and ultimately join the union.

In a recent statement a Tesco spokesperson added: "We are a good employer, we are paying good wages, offering good benefits. It is down to individuals (at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market) if they want to join (the union) but the signs are there is very little interest among our staff."

The UFCW, led by union president Hanson, will be outside Tesco's annual meeting tomorrow in full force. A press conference is planned, which may feature union supermarket clerks from unionized U.S. supermarkets, along with one or more British politicians who are supporting the UFCW, as well as others.

We have it on good source that Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market CEO Tim Mason and other company senior executives have been taken by surprise at how aggressive the UFCW has been in terms of Tesco's Fresh & Easy USA.

However, good research (like just asking two or three industry people over lunch), which the chain claims it conducted for nearly two years before opening the first Fresh & Easy grocery market, would have shown them that in the Western USA, nearly every major supermarket chain and most medium -to- larger independent food and grocery retailers are union except for Wal-Mart (which has very little food retailing presence in California for example), Trader Joe's (which isn't a major market share player), Whole Foods Market, Inc. (which despite it huge success still remains a minor market share food retailer), and a handful of other niche players.

All the top market share chains in California, Nevada and Arizona--Safeway (Safeway and Vons banners), Kroger (Ralphs and Foods Co), SuperValu (Albertsons, Bristol Farms), Stater Bros., Bashas, Save Mart, Raleys and many others are unionized supermarkets.

Speaking of research and Whole Foods Market, remember Senator Obama's now somewhat famous "Arugula moment" (the fancy salad green) comment during the Democratic primary campaign just a couple months ago, in which he said something to the effect of "have you seen how much the price of Arugula has gone up at Whole Foods," during a speech and talk in front of an audience about soaring food prices in the U.S.?

His opponents, all now defeated by him, jumped all over the now Democratic Party Nominee for President for that statement, implying he was elitist for even mentioning Arugula in a crown of middle-income (and higher income) voters and consumers who perhaps they suggested were more likely struggling to pay for a head of iceberg lettuce rather than Arugula. Although we're sure there were many in the crowd who could afford Arugula without taking much of a financial hit at all.

Well, were told Senator Obama knew well the soaring cost of Arugula at Whole Foods because back home in Chicago (where Mrs. Obama does most of the grocery shopping), and when alone in Washington D.C., he likes shopping at non-union Whole Foods from time-to-time (although that's not likely been the case since he started running for President), as we do, although we also shop at and support union stores and employees as we're sure he does as well.

After years of trying to organize Whole Foods Market store workers unsuccessfully, the UFCW has to all appearances given up on the cause, as it seems to have done with Wal-Mart and Trader Joe's.

Perhaps in part that's why Tesco and its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA chain is square in the union's sights; it sees an opportunity to focus primarily on one non-union food retailer early in its development in the U.S. In contrast, the union waited for years and years after the respective chains were established before attempting any serious organizing of Wal-Mart, Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's workers.

For example, Whole Foods Market, Inc. CEO John Mackey, who describes himself as a combination Libertarian and social liberal with a free-enterprise entrepreneurial bent, has stated for years he has no intention of sitting down with UFCW union executives to discuss unionizing Whole Foods stores. In fact, whether correct or exagerated, Mackey claims unionizing the Whole Foods stores would ruin the company's culture and the "team" approach to running the stores he says is the major key to the retailer's success.

In the case of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, the store level employees have made it pretty clear they don't want to belong to the union. With Wal-Mart it's a much more complex issue which we don't have time to go into here.

On the other hand, all of the unionized supermarket chains mentioned above, negotiated the latest round of contracts for their respective Western U.S. division operations with the UFCW in record time, and never even intimated they would like to be non-union, generally saying the professionalism and status of their unionized store clerks, unlike John Mackey's view, is a major contributor to their respective succeess as food and grocery retailers.

Finding itself with the UFCW, as well as the possible 2009 President of the United States, focusing on it like a laser beam, the question is what will Tesco do?

Will it hold firm like Whole Foods Market, Inc. and Trader Joe's have done? Will it fight unionization of its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA stores using nearly any and every means possible like Wal-Mart has done? Or will it decide to sit down with the UFCW union's leaders and begin a conversation as the possible next President of the United States is asking the company to do?

Perhaps tomorrow's AGM will shed some light on which or any of those decisions Tesco ultimately decides to make, depending on if a significant number of substantial Tesco PLC shareholders discuss and offer strong points of view one way or the other on the issue.

2008 Tesco AGM: Sir Terry TV: View an April Corporate-Produced Video Interview With CEO Sir Terry Leahy About Tesco's Last Quarter Financial Results

From the Fresh & Easy Buzz Editor's Desk: Tesco PLC, parent company of Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA, holds its Annual General Meeting (AGM) tomorrow at the UK Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.

Tesco PLC reported its most recent to date financial results on April 15 of this year.

On the eve of the 2008 AGM, you can view a corporate video interview (not conducted by an independent journalist) with Tesco PLC chief executive Sir Terry Leahy about the group, across all retailing formats and categories, as well as including comments on its UK and international retailing business, including Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA.

Highlights of the video interview (there's also a link here for a podcast and written transcript of the interview) include:

Tesco's:
Results & strategy
UK
Non-food
US - Fresh & Easy
International
Retailing services
Capex & property
Tesco in the community
Current trading and outlook

Click here to view the April 15, 2008 corporate video interview with Tesco PLC CEO Sir Terry Leahy, as well as having access to the podcast and interview written transcript links.

Tesco 2008 AGM: Charges of Tesco's Exploiting Workers at Indian Factory Heat Up On the Eve of Corporate Annual General Meeting

From the Fresh & Easy Buzz Editor's Desk: United Kingdom-based Tesco PLC's Annual General Meeting (AGM) is tomorrow, Friday, June 27. Tesco owns Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market in the USA.

As we wrote about in this piece on June 22, "Vocal Cast of Critics and Advocacy Groups to Attend Tesco's Annual General Meeting On Friday, June 27," numerous critics of Tesco PLC's corporate policies, as well as a variety of advocacy groups, are preparing to make their voices heard both inside and outside this year's AGM, which is being held at the United Kingdom's Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham this year.

In our piece titled and linked above (or click here to read it), we reported one of the advocacy groups attending the Tesco AGM will be the non-profit organization War on Want, which says it will have a representative from one of Tesco's factories in India at the annual meeting tomorrow to deliver what it claims is a less than positive report about worker conditions at that factory.

Today, Britain's Evening Standard newspaper is reporting on an investigation that claims Tesco PLC, the United Kingdom's largest and the world's third-largest retailer, is exploiting workers at the Indian factory mentioned above.

Below is the headline and opening paragraphs of the report in today's Evening Standard:

Tesco accused of using 'slave labour'
Robert Mendick and Jonathan Prynn, Evening Standard
26 June 2008

Tesco is accused today of exploiting workers who are paid an average 16p an hour.

A damaging investigation alleges that Britain's biggest retailer - which made a £2.8bn profit last year - is being supplied by an Indian factory where textile workers earn, on average, £8.75 for a 54-hour, six-day week. The lowest paid receive less than £7 a week.

A researcher flown in from India will present the figures at the retail giant's annual shareholders' meeting tomorrow in an attempt to maximise Tesco's embarrassment.

Click here to read the entire Evening Standard story. You also can read the press release distributed today by the non-profit anti-poverty group War on Want here.

Vocal Cast of Critics and Advocacy Groups to Attend Tesco's Annual General Meeting On Friday, June 27

Joseph Hanson, the Washington, D.C-based president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union, which represents 1.3 million American supermarket industry workers, including those working at the major chains in the U.S. states of California, Nevada and Arizona where Tesco has its 61 Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market grocery stores, will be attending Tesco's three hour Annual General Meeting (AGM) on June, 27, according to the union.

UFCW spokesman Michael Bride says the U.S. supermarket clerks' union has requested several meetings with Tesco's senior exectutives, which they've thus far declined. Therefore, Bride says union president Hanson and some of his aids have decided to show up at the Tesco AGM, which we be held at the UK Birmingham Motorcycle Museum this year, "in order to get their voice heard."

"We're using the AGM as one opportunity to let the various stakeholders know about our strong desire to work with the company (Tesco on union issues in the U.S. with Fresh & Easy)," says union spokesman Bride.

As we wrote about here on June 4, the UFCW has launched a major campaign, with a member of Britain's Parliament (MP) on its side, in the UK, which is designed to bring pressure on Tesco to come to the table and meet with union leaders in order to discuss unionization of the retailer's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market chain in the U.S.

This campaign comes on the heels of various ongoing UFCW organizing activities in the U.S. states of California, Nevada and Arizona, where the Fresh & Easy stores are located, that the UFCW has been conducting since the first of the small-format grocery stores opened in November, 2007. [You can read some of our coverage of those activities here.]

Fresh & Easy Buzz has learned the UFCW-UK Tesco campaign group plans to hold a press conference outside the annual meeting on June 27, as well as maintain a presence out front of the Motorcycle Museum, site of the meeting, all day with pickets and protestors urging Tesco to meet with union president Hanson.

Tesco's public position is the UFCW is free to organize its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA store-level employees per-U.S. labor laws, saying the decision to join or not join the union is the workers' choice.

The retailer hasn't offered any public statement as to why its refused to meet in a corporate capacity with the union's leaders and isn't required to do so by any U.S. labor law.

The American UFCW union won't be the only Tesco critic or advocacy group attending this years AGM on June 27. Far from it.

As we reported in this series of stories two weeks ago, UK chef and animal rights activist Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has placed a formal, written shareholder resolution on the agenda for the AGM. The resolution, if approved by shareholders, would force Tesco to change its current chicken welfare policy for the produced-in-the-UK chickens it sells in its stores.

The resolution if passed would no longer allow Tesco to sell "cheap chickens," which are birds raised in small battery cages, also called intensive chicken farming.


Tesco sells free-range and free-range organic chickens in its stores alongside the cheaper intensively-farmed birds. However, like at all supermarkets, the free-range and free-range organic chickens cost much more per pound. Tesco is famous in the UK for being the originator and biggest seller of the ~1.99 (British pound) per-Lb. chicken, which is in the price range most middle and lower income British consumers can afford.

If passed, Fearnly-Whittingstall's shareholder resolution could put Tesco at a serious competitive disadvantage when it comes to chicken selling vis-a-vis its food retailing competitors in the UK, as the resolution applies only to Tesco, leaving the other supermarket chains like Wal-Mart-owned Asda, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Aldi and others to sell the cheaper chickens, which comprise the vast majority of birds purchased in UK supermarkets by British consumers, although sales of free-range birds is growing.

Foodie and chicken welfare advocate Fearnly-Whittingstall has become at master at public relations behind the chicken welfare issue and his shareholder resolution, generating tons of press and publicity in the UK's newspapers and on television about the resolution to be voted on at the AGM on June 27.

In fact, we've learned he will be gearing up that PR media machine for the Tesco AGM, bringing a group of supporters with him, along with his own television crew, to record and broadcast the day's events.

Fearnley-Whittingstall also has lined up some afinity groups to support him and his shareholder resolution. These groups include The UK's RSPCA animal right organization, who's chicken welfare guidlines Tesco says it adheres to, and the animal welfare group Compassion for World Farming, which says it will hold a major protest or action outside the Motorcycle Museum while the AGM goes on inside.

Additionally, the chef/chicken welfare activist has lined up the support of UK institutional shareholder advisory group PIRC, which advises the UK's public sector pension funds--government, schools and the like--on corporate ethics and governance issues. The PIRC is advising public sector pension funds that hold Tesco PLC shares to vote in favor of Hugh Fearnley-Whittisnstall's Tesco chicken welfare resolution.

Despite this coalition of support, the word on the street in the UK is that the chef/chicken welfare activist's shareholder resolution is likely to fail at the June 27 AGM because the majority of institution and major indivisual investors, who hold the majority of votes, will vote against it.

However, there is some concern within Tesco, as well as with its major investors, that with the PIRC on board, along with the growing popularity Fearnley-Whittingstall has generated for the chicken welfare issue and his resolution in the UK, that although it isn't likely there will be enough votes to pass the resolution, there could be enough votes to create significant embarrasment and negative publicty for Tesco on the issue.

Competitors like Wal-Mart-owned Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons has been very low-key on the issue, although they are privately relishing it a bit, according to UK industry analysts. However, since all three are publicly held companies, and subject to the same UK law which allows such shareholder resolutions, they know they could be next.

In addition to the UFCW union and Hugh Fearnly Whittigstall, and their supporters, a number of other groups plan to attend the June 27 AGM to voice their respective criticisims and points of advocacy regarding various Tesco practices and policies.

These include:

>Animal welfare group Care for the Wild International. The group says it plans to protest what is says are instances of cruel and inhumane treatement of live turtles in Tesco's Chinese stores. Live turtle is a popular item among Chinese consumers.

>The non-profit organization War on Want, which says it will have a representative from one of Tesco's factories in India at the AGM to deliver what it says is a less than positive report about worker conditions in that factory.

>Compassion in World Farming, another non-profit group which also said it will address what it says is less than positive treatment by Tesco of workers at factory's the retailer owns or contracts with.

>The environmental group Friends of the Earth, which says it will be at the AGM to call on Tesco to do more in terms of its commitment to the environment and global warming.

Meanwhile, there is concern inside Tesco that this year's annual meeting does "not turn into a carnival or three ring circus," a UK source close to Tesco told Fresh & Easy Buzz. He added Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy "does not want to be the ring master either." He might not have a choice?

There's also expected to be considerable discussion about Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA venture and perhaps a litle breaking news from the company about it. However, Tesco has no plans to release any sales data about Fresh & Easy at the annual meeting on June 27.

It's suggested by our UK source that Tesco executives get a very good night's sleep on June 26, as he says the 2008 AGM on June 27 is likely to be the most intense annual meeting in company history, and he's been to a number of them.

Fresh & Easy Buzz will be offering extensive coverage of the June 27 AGM. Stay tuned.

Tesco PLC News: Tesco Responds to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Chicken Welfare Shareholder Resolution; Shareholders to Vote at Upcoming AGM

Tesco responded today to British chicken welfare advocate and campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's shareholder resolution designed to get Tesco to change it's chicken welfare procurement and selling policy.

Fresh & Easy Buzz has been reported on the chef-activist's campaign and resolution, which will be presented to Tesco shareholders at its annual general meeting (AGM) on June 27, this week in the blog here and here.

In the resolution document, which was posted this morning on Tesco's website, Fearnley-Whittingstall argues that Tesco's selling of intensive or battery-raised chickens fails to meet the UK Farm Animal Council's "Five Freedoms" standards which Tesco has adopted as its corporate animal welfare policy.

Those five freedoms are:

• Freedom from hunger and thirst

• Freedom from discomfort

• Freedom from pain, injury or disease

• Freedom to express normal and natural behavior

• Freedom from fear and distress

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall argues in his resolution document the intensively raised broiler chickens Tesco is selling fail to meet the Farm Animal Council's "Five Freedoms" because the birds:

• Sustain a significant percentage of hockburn

• Have no access to natural light

• Have no access to the outside

• Have no access to perches or objects that allow them to express their natural behavior.

Tesco disagrees, saying the standard broiler chickens it sells in its stores meet and in some cases exceed the Farm Animal Council's national farm assurance standards for chicken production.

Further, Tesco says the RSPCA Freedom Food standards the chicken welfare activist-campaigner wants the retailer to meet exceed the "Five Freedoms" standards it has adopted as its policy. [Read the UK RSPCA organization's "Good Chicken" guidelines here.]

In a statement in response to Fearnley-Whittingstall's shareholder resolution document, Tesco said:

"We do not agree that this approach is the best way of advancing animal welfare. It would in effect commit us to restricting choice for our customers and pricing out many of them. This would hit our lower-income customers very hard, especially at a time when they are already concerned about rising costs."

Tesco is urging its shareholders to vote against the chicken welfare campaigner's resolution at the annual general meeting on June 27.

Fearnley-Whittingstall's resolution will be tabled as a motion at the annual meeting, with shareholders getting a chance to vote on it.

The UK Farm Animal Council, which is sponsored by the government, and the RSPCA, an independent non-profit animal right organization, are two separate organizations--or "different animals, so to speak. As such, it appears Tesco and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are playing a bit of a written word version of the game of "chicken" in the sense of basing the standards alternatively on the Farm Animal Council on the one hand, and on the RSPCA on the other. Which comes first--the chicken or the egg?

Meanwhile, the chef-chicken welfare campaigner says he is pressing on, rallying supporters in advance of the June 27 meeting.

Tesco also plans to communicate fully to its shareholders it wants them to vote against the resolution at the annual general meeting.

We expect more pro and con publicity to come from both sides of the issue in the next couple weeks leading up to the June 27 Tesco AGM.

Will the stockholders vote against Fearnley-Whittingstall's chicken welfare policy resolution, thereby taking the position that a current bird in the hand beats two in the bush? Or will the shareholders side with the chef-activist, and perhaps the chickens, and vote for his resolution, thereby suggesting a cheap chicken isn't always a happy chicken?

Stay tuned.

You can read the full Tesco chicken welfare shareholder resolution document authored by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall here.

Tesco, the Chef, and the Chickens: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Plans to Put Tesco's Chicken Policy Under the Broiler At Upcoming Annual Meeting

Popular British celebrity chef and ethical foods activist Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall last month bought one share of Tesco PLC stock so he could attend the United Kingdom-based retailers next annual shareholders meeting, which will be held on June 27.

The chef's plan: to author a Tesco shareholders resolution calling for the retailer to create what he and other activists say needs to be a higher ethical standard for chickens sold in Tesco stores.

Fearnley-Whittingstall and fellow British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver have been campaigning in the UK for better treatment of chickens by the nation's farmers, as well as arguing that UK supermarket chains like Tesco, Sainsbury's, who Oliver is the TV pitchman for, Wal-Mart-owned Asda and others should raise their standards for the birds they sell in their stores, which would then require chicken farmers to change their methods because those three retailers are the top buyers of chickens in the UK. In other words, get the retail leaders to change and the others will follow.

The focus of celeb chef Fearnley-Whittigstall's campaign has been to get chicken farmers to increase the sizes of the cages they rear the birds in, but even more significantly and vocally to get them to raise more chickens outdoors, free-range style.

The campaigns of both Fearnley-Whittigstall and Jamie Oliver, have convinced more UK consumers to switch from chickens raised traditionally in small cages to organic and free-range-reared birds. In fact, earlier this year both Sainsbury's and the upscale Waitrose supermarket chain reported sales of free-range chickens were nearing the 50% mark in their UK supermarkets.

But it's Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain with a 31% share of the market, that Hugh Fearnley-Whittigstall, chef and animal rights activist, has set his sights on.

Last week Tesco informed shareholder Fearnley-Whittingstall that if he wanted to put his ethical chicken sales shareholder resolution to stockholders at the annual meeting, he would have to come up with ~86,888 British pounds in order to pay for "the cost of distributing the relevant papers to the shareholders."

The celebrity chef and activist initially cried fowl, since Tesco has in the past waved such fees, usually much less by the way, to others wishing to discuss various issues and even submit resolutions to stockholders at the annual meetings.

Fearnley-Whittigstall's discussion and resolution isn't a typical one, as its accompanied by his ongoing campaign to get UK consumers to change Tesco's chicken-selling policy in any form they can, which includes boycotting the stores.

It seems Tesco likely figured the celebrity chef and activist would simply drop the stockholder resolution issue rather than pay the princely sum of ~86,888 pounds.

Hugh Fearnly-Whittigstall almost did just that. Last week he said he had ~30,000 pounds to pay Tesco if they insisted on making him pay, but lacked the rest of the money to meet the ~86,888 total.

However, not one to be placed under a hot broiler by anybody, the chef came up with a marketing and PR brainstorm to raise the remaining amount of money, which is far from "chicken scratch."

Fearnley-Whittigstall has launched a website named, "Chicken Out; Campaign For A Free Range Future."

On the website, along with all sorts of information about free-range chickens, his ethical chicken campaign, a link to "Chicken Run: The Musical, and even recipes for chicken dishes, the celebrity chef is launching "Hugh's Tesco Chicken Check Out Challenge," which includes an online fundraising campaign to help him obtain the remaining ~56,888 pounds he needs to add to his ~30,000 to pay Tesco's ~86,888 fee in order to get his resolution before the retailer's stockholders at the June 27 meeting just three weeks from now.

The chef is using an online auction system to raise the money from supporters or just those who want to do something with Hugh. For example, there's an online auction item for a chicken dinner with Hugh. Starting bid: ~5,000 pounds.

There's a day at Fearnley-Whittigstall's River Cottage chicken farms with Hugh and the chickens, which currently has a bid of ~3,000 pounds and is still being bid on.

There's "Dinner Ahoy: You hook 'em, we cook 'em," in which Hugh and his team will take seven people out on a fishing boat, then cook the fish for the group back at River Cottage Farms. Current bid: ~1,800 pounds.

That's just a few of the creative items the celebrity chef has up on the website for auction. You can view these items and all the others on the website here.

We have a feeling the chef-activist will raise much more than the ~56,888 pounds needed to pay Tesco its ~86,888, minus the ~30,000 pounds Fearnley-Whittigstall says he has out of his own pocket to pay. Although we have it on good authority the well paid chef could write a check for the full amount easily.

But that looks to be the point of the website scheme; as any monies over that amount will go to his campaign to convert the UK's chicken-producing industry to a free-range one. We're told ~6,000 pounds has already been pledged just today on the website.

By telling the celebrity chef he must pay the ~86,888 pounds to get attention at the annual meeting for his ethical chicken-selling resolution, the Tesco has handed Fearnley-Whittigstall a million dollar angle for his overall free-range chicken campaign, and the ability to garner more publicity and raise more money than he and his fellow activists could ever have done without Tesco's help.

Tesco's position on the chef-activist's resolution and campaign to get the retailer to change its chicken procurement and selling policy is that the company has a fine and reputable policy in terms of the chickens it sells. The retailer says Fearnley-Whittigstall is essentially using the campaign against Tesco for publicity, which he denies. He says he simply wants the nation's leading retailer to change so that others--including chicken farmers--will follow. The chef's ultimate goal is to have as many UK farmers raising free-range birds as he can, he says.

Tesco has yet to make a statement of any kind regarding the chef's website or aonline fund-rasing auction.

"Tesco is the biggest retailer in the country and they can make the biggest difference to the lives of hundreds of millions of chickens. And so I’m determined, along with my fellow supporting shareholders and Chicken Out campaigners, to pursue this resolution," Fearnley-Whittigstall said today. " So I’m putting my money where my mouth is to take this issue all the way to the Tesco AGM (the stockholders meeting) on June 27.”

It should be an interesting annual meeting on June 27.