Channel 4′s The Great British Food Fight continued last night with Jamie Oliver trying the save British Pig Farmers. Pig farmers across the country are in crisis because huge increases in the price of grain mean they are losing up to £20 for every animal they produce. Experts warn the industry faces catastrophe unless the price of pork and bacon rises, a move so far rejected by supermarkets. Also the cost to UK farmers of meeting higher welfare standards has left them open to competition from some mass producers from the EU.
Britain is importing cheaper bacon and pork from Europe which has often been reared in conditions that are banned in the UK.
Bewildered? You should be.
It does seem ludicrous to say the least that pig stalls are banned in the UK and yet we are quite happy to import bacon from Europe that has been reared like that. The pork is cheaper by the very method it is reared with pigs living up to 5 years in stalls forced to pop out about 40 pigs a time. So the bottom line is that if we buy cheaper e
European pork, the pig is unhappy, the British farmer is unhappy and everyone loses out (except perhaps the Danes).
As Jamie showed last night when people are offered a choice they almost always want to buy British and would also pay a small amount more if they knew the pigs have lived a decent life.
Jamie comes in for a lot of stick by the press, but his heart is definitely in the right place and the programme last night highlighted the need for every single British shopper to know exactly what they buying, where it has come from and be able to make informed decisions based on clear labelling.
To hear any pig farmer has taken their own life is tragic, and with a little help from consumers it need not be like this.
So please, until labelling is clearer, BUY BRITISH -look for the Union Jack label or, RSPCA standard approved and make sure its reared in the UK. As shown last night you might need a magnifying glass to read the labelling properly!!
