The Prince and the Pig Farmer
Prince Charles supports British pig farmers…
It seems as though every man and his pig has been affected by the rising costs in fuel and feed of late. Pig farmers in Britain are facing real difficulty because of the huge increase in the cost of wheat and soya.
Despite retailers increasing their prices the farmers are seeing little of it and the Prince of Wales has lent his backing to encourage more restaurateurs and the public alike to buy more pork products.
Speaking at the Pig and Poultry Fair the Prince said: “Unless urgent action is taken, it is a sad fact that this country’s pig sector, which has never received subsidies, could be decimated. This would be a tradgedy for the country which produces some of the finest standards of husbandry and animal welfare-for instance 40% of British pigs are reared outdoors, something that is unique in Europe. I can only urge consumers to do everything they can to support British pig farmers by buying pork, bacon, ham and sausages which bear the Quality Standard Mark, or which are clearly organic or free-range pigs raised by British breeders”
There is a campaign to raise awareness and help the farmers called “Pigs are Worth It” they have a website called pigsareworthit.com with some 19,000 already signed up to pledge their support.
I cannot help but wonder if this will not go the same way as the recent ’Chicken Out’ campaign which drew much public attention but in the long term has it really done enough to change people’s thinking?
Miles,
Yesterday I bought a free range chicken for under £4 …. not huge but enough for what I wanted and it’s carcass is ready for the stock pot today. I do buy pork but have to admit it’s not every week…. the cut varies but I went through a fillet stage for the sake of fast food. These days I’m more likely to buy a joint if I have guests. Whilst on this subject I would like to add that some butchers do themselves no favours by displaying pork and other meat, coated in dubious looking sauces, either anaemic or vibrant red. They often have ready cooked chickens too but not free range so I won’t buy them. One butcher I’ve met has the facial expression and demeanour of a slapped rear end of a wild boar
so one must feel up to the challenge before going in! In a town where supermarket meat is relatively poor, the butchers should be doing a roaring trade…..makes you wonder if their old family traditions and the ‘over tarting up’ of their produce, is what it takes to sustain a business and wave the flag for British meat?
Cid
June 7, 2008 @ 10:11 am
Miles
this comes at the exact time Asda launched their 2p sausage - irony or coincidence ?
An 8 pack of pork sausages for 16p (that’s 30c for 8 sausages for your US readers)
Sadly, you only need to look round at the state of people in this country to see that the majority are not interested in what they eat.
They’d sooner spend money sending texts to vote on Big Brother or X Factor than they would buying ‘proper’ British pork.
I also fear Charles is not the best advocate for anything, I’d certainly take no lectures from the hypocrite !
Rod
June 7, 2008 @ 11:08 am
Cid,
You make some valid points, I am with you on the meat marinade front. I assume it is done to try and keep up with the supermarkets and trying to appeal to a new generation who want everything already done. In the years to come how much call will there be for a straightforward joint of meat? indeed how many would be able to cook one?
Perhaps some people don’t know what to ask for in a butchers, i.e cut or weight and perhaps this is where the pre-packed supermarket stuff gains the upper hand?
Miles
June 7, 2008 @ 3:42 pm
Rod,
Can’t argue with any of that, would Asda/Wal-Mart bother doing it if they didn’t think there was a market for them? I doubt it.
As for our Royal Highness, yes he is a hypocrite, lecturing us on the environment whilst driving an Aston Martin and a Bentley, I used his waffle in the same way as the pig farmers have, to bring some attention to the matter.
Miles
June 7, 2008 @ 3:48 pm
Miles,
to pick up on your other point about the chicken issue.
I doubt it will get the same momentum really. The TV programmes helped with the free range chicken issue.
Also the exponents of the cause, namely Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstal and Jamie Oliver, carry more credibility, public and media appeal than Prince Charles.
It is a good cause but I’m afraid the British public get largely what they deserve and whilst opinion polls in this country all say we care when it comes down to it most do not.
Sad but true.
Kudos to you for raising the matter and helping with the publicity, I knew nothing of the new campaign before reading your blog - another difference between this and the free range chicken issue.
Rod
June 7, 2008 @ 6:20 pm
Rod,
I have to agree with you, most people if questioned on an ethical matter will automatically give an answer they believe to be politically correct. “Should you eat intensively reared chickens?” the majority will aswer ‘no’, they should ask ‘Can you afford to eat anything other than intensively reared chickens’
This post highlights a huge problem in the pig farming industry but as you say, who really cares?
It’s a Catch 22, on the one hand I feel I should beat the drum for buying better quality but on the other how can you realistically expect most people to be able to do it?
ASDA/Wal-Mart will sell these sausages and the people buying them either don’t or can’t afford to care about what is in them.
Miles
June 7, 2008 @ 10:34 pm
Miles
I think it is worth beating the drum, it may not change the world but if enough people do it it does make a difference.
I don’t fully buy the ‘can’t afford it’ argument either. I know it’s a factor but often more something to say and hide behind.
The most expensive food I have eaten recently was also the most unhealthy.
It was a chinese takeaway which was basically rubbish but ended up costing about £7 per head !
£7 for one plate of Cr*p !
Those people who cannot afford a decent sausage or a reasonable free range chicken are buying the likes of the above.
Remember the guy on HFW’s Chicken Out show who was swearing and shouting about Hugh calling him all the names under the sun.
Claimed he had to live in the real world and could not afford a free range chicken for his family on Sunday (would give them another meal on Monday as well).
His tirade took place in his local pub. He sat there making these statements with a pint of beer and a packet of cigarettes in front of him.
1 beer + 20 cigarettes is over £7
The cost of a free range chicken for his wife and children he cares so much about !
Rant Over !
Rod
June 8, 2008 @ 8:10 am
Rod,
There will always be money for beer and fags, regardless.
Miles
June 8, 2008 @ 8:21 am
Miles,
The best joints of meat I’ve had over the past couple of years have come from a certain supermarket in Lincoln. Having said that the local farmers market seem to do well with their regulars, although their produce is expensive and for good reason….. the people who curse the price of a free range chicken would never be persuaded I suspect.
So where has this country come to….. they don’t want to pay a few pounds more for free range meat, they don’t want expensive rare breed farmers market stuff either on the whole and most of them own a pet rabbit so they don’t want to eat rabbit. All you can do is to keep this subject in the arena. Child benefit should have a £20 voucher to spend only on butcher shop meat perhaps?
Cid - who’ll be eating fresh tuna today, £3 per person and line caught. Tomorrow, something that requires homemade free range chicken stock….. I’m thinking paella.
June 8, 2008 @ 9:52 am
Cid,
It is pretty grim isn’t it. The Collins boys were discussing this very subject over lunch today, in twenty years from now how many people aged 30-40 will be buying a joint of meat? how many will know what to do with one? How many will be having a three course lunch extravaganza like I did today courtesy of my mother
Miles
June 8, 2008 @ 6:44 pm
Miles,
I just read an article in the Times where the MD of Waitrose is quoted as saying that did not take the moral road in terms of chickens and noted the interesting argument of the Tesco boss that the £1.99 chicken allows people to eat chicken who might not otherwise be able to afford to do so. His own company’s decision however was based on the highest standard, with best welfare standards that taste great.
Generally, he voiced concern about how we’re are going to feed the world in the future with several billion people more to feed since 1900. He thought that the way we manage food and our relationship with food will have to change. Apparently, 25 years ago, 25% of disposable income went on food and it is now 9% and that this was not sustainable. People would have to start spending more on food as a proportion of their total disposable income.
Sorry, if I have gone on a bit but I thought it relevant to your blogs and general comments.
Elsie
June 10, 2008 @ 9:18 am
Elsie,
Thanks for that, a very interesting and worthwhile comment.
I am struck by the figures you quote on the average household spend. On the one hand 25% does seem a lot but then our attitude to food has changed. How much more of our disposable income (what’s left of it) can we realistically spend?
I’ve said it before and both Cid and yourself have touched upon it, people need to be better educated in cooking and the meaning of ‘food thrift’. We waste far too much food and that, to me is the real problem.
Thanks again.
Miles
June 10, 2008 @ 9:39 pm
Miles,
I was heartened by a report in the local radio, that a “Cooking Bus” had arrived at one of the Schools. It appears that this bus goes to various schools, providing lessons in different types of cooking and food technology. A representative of that particular school stated that they had always retained their weekly cooking lesson of 1.40 hour (saying: Pssst). It was clearly not part of the national curriculum - now back in fashion. At least that is something.
It is an arguable point whether the time spent as a proportion of the week is sufficient, bearing in mind that for us humans to survive we need food and shelter!
Perhaps the good side of rising food costs is that people will have to learn again?
Elsie
June 11, 2008 @ 2:07 pm
Elsie,
Thanks for mentioning that, I didn’t know about it. Children really do need better educating about food, where it comes from and how it is cooked. I go back to what I said earlier who will know what to buy from a butcher in the future?
Thanks again.
Miles
June 12, 2008 @ 9:50 pm