Joanna Lumley helps Jamie Oliver reveal state of our pigs
Beth Granter | 29.01.2009 09:42 | Animal Liberation | Climate Chaos | Health
"Sow stalls are like battery cages - intolerable cruelty to produce our food," says Joanna Lumley, patron of farm animal welfare charity Compassion in World Farming.
Referring to the notoriously cruel metal cage that confines pregnant pigs and is used widely in the production of much of the pork we consume, actress and animal welfare lover Joanna Lumley makes her point in Jamie Oliver's new programme Jamie Saves our Bacon to be shown on January 29th as part of Channel 4's The Great British Food Fight season.
Sow stalls are used across Europe and with over 60 per cent of our pork and bacon being imported is symptomatic of poor welfare practices endured by many of the 250 million pigs slaughtered every year. Yet although sow stalls are banned in the UK that doesn't mean that when it comes to bacon, sausages and pork, simply buying British is the answer.
Compassion in World Farming's Europe-wide investigation into pig welfare standards revealed shocking images of barren pig pens with European law frequently broken, including in several British farms.
"Recently Compassion in World Farming filmed in 60 pig farms across Europe," explains Joanna Lumley. "When you see the results - pigs crowded together in barren concrete pens, with no straw bedding and not even the legally required level of manipulable material, breeding sows still being kept in narrow metal-barred sow stalls, unable to turn round throughout their four month pregnancies, widespread tail-docking and castration of piglets - you are tempted to despair."
Whilst British pigs were found to be better off than their European counterparts, with a higher proportion of farms visited providing outdoor access and UK legislation providing better welfare through the banning of narrow cages (sow stalls) for pregnant pigs and male pigs usually being spared castration, still too many pigs in the UK are kept in intensive, factory farmed conditions.
What can consumers do?
"I urge people to shop more compassionately and find out how their meat is produced. Always look at the label and visit www.ciwf.org to learn more about what to buy if you want higher welfare bacon," advises Joanna Lumley.
For the best pig welfare look out for Soil Association organic label, free-range, outdoor bred and reared and RSPCA Freedom Food. Also check for country of origin - if available. Buying British doesn't guarantee you high welfare but is definitely better than most European imports.
Sow stalls are used across Europe and with over 60 per cent of our pork and bacon being imported is symptomatic of poor welfare practices endured by many of the 250 million pigs slaughtered every year. Yet although sow stalls are banned in the UK that doesn't mean that when it comes to bacon, sausages and pork, simply buying British is the answer.
Compassion in World Farming's Europe-wide investigation into pig welfare standards revealed shocking images of barren pig pens with European law frequently broken, including in several British farms.
"Recently Compassion in World Farming filmed in 60 pig farms across Europe," explains Joanna Lumley. "When you see the results - pigs crowded together in barren concrete pens, with no straw bedding and not even the legally required level of manipulable material, breeding sows still being kept in narrow metal-barred sow stalls, unable to turn round throughout their four month pregnancies, widespread tail-docking and castration of piglets - you are tempted to despair."
Whilst British pigs were found to be better off than their European counterparts, with a higher proportion of farms visited providing outdoor access and UK legislation providing better welfare through the banning of narrow cages (sow stalls) for pregnant pigs and male pigs usually being spared castration, still too many pigs in the UK are kept in intensive, factory farmed conditions.
What can consumers do?
"I urge people to shop more compassionately and find out how their meat is produced. Always look at the label and visit www.ciwf.org to learn more about what to buy if you want higher welfare bacon," advises Joanna Lumley.
For the best pig welfare look out for Soil Association organic label, free-range, outdoor bred and reared and RSPCA Freedom Food. Also check for country of origin - if available. Buying British doesn't guarantee you high welfare but is definitely better than most European imports.
Beth Granter
e-mail:
beth@ciwf.org
Homepage:
http://www.ciwf.org
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