Fearnley-Whittingstall will put forward a special resolution, which he has funded, at Tesco's annual general meeting urging the company to set higher minimum welfare standards for chickens.
This would include measures to reduce stocking density and to create a more stimulating environment to allow chickens to express natural behaviour.
The TV chef raised nearly £90,000, requested by Tesco so that the resolution could be sent to all 235,000 shareholders and voted on at its AGM today at Birmingham's National Motorcycle Museum. It needs the approval of at least 75% of shareholders to be passed and is unlikely to make it through.
Fearnley-Whittingstall said Tesco had put enormous obstacles in front of the resolution, but that if he could get 10% of the vote it would be a good indication that there had been significant "shareholder movement on the issue".
Tesco has asked its shareholders to vote against the resolution claiming that it would restrict choice for its customers and price out many of them.
Fearnley-Whittingstall argues that by selling factory farmed chickens, which he claims have no access to light or outside space, Tesco was "breaching its own animal welfare policy".
In response Tesco, said: "We believe that the chickens we purchase are already produced in systems capable of providing the five freedoms."
In February this year Fearnley-Whittingstall and animal welfare groups criticised Tesco for cutting the price of its standard broiler chicken to as little as £1.99 in a special offer.
Broiler chickens are raised specificially for meat production in a highly controlled environment along with thousands of other chicks. It is given unrestricted access to a special diet of high protein feed delivered via an automated feeding system combined with artificial lighting conditions to stimulate growth so that it can reach the desired body weight in four to eight weeks.
Fearnley Whittingstall also presented 'Hugh's Chicken Run' as part of Channel 4's documentary strand in January investigating chicken production, which also included celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie's Fowl Dinners'.
Tesco is also under fire after it was accused of using slave labour and received a letter from Democratic presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, urging the company to engage with trade unions in the US.