I feel that for those of us who love a bacon sandwich, we should step up to the mark and start to buy British pork and support our farmers, maybe from the butcher, rather than supermarkets.... Or maybe you feel it is you right to but cheep pork from supermarkets?
I buy most of my meat from supermarkets. It's convenient.
All of it from British farmers - often named on the packaging.
What were you intending when you used the phrase "maybe you think it's your right to buy cheap pork from supermarkets" ? That's quite a challenging statement - like supermarket shoppers have to justify themselves? It's predicated on the false assumption that meat from supermarkets is "wrong" and people who are audacious/thoughtless/selfish enough to buy it are also "wrong". I resent the implication that I, as a supermarket shopper, am automatically to be labelled as doing our farmers down.
Of course it's my right. It's my right to buy what I want from wherever I choose to buy it from.
I also, where the opportunity arises, buy it from Essington Farm Shop - 'ethical' enough for you?
Blame the past governments for allowing the supermarkets to have the monolopy of where we have a choice to buy meat from, and the price they pay farmers.
I have three supermakets within a mile radius from where I live I used to have 4 butchers.
I like to blame the government.....then I don't have to answer for my actions << insert Aleksandr Orlov impersonation here
The fact that pig farmers are losing more than £21 on every pig they sell is partly due to supermarkets but mainly due to us as shoppers. Who can sustain this loss long term?
The long term effect of this is that one by one we will loose all those wonderful farms where pigs run free in the fields to more and more intensively reared, indoor pig farms. Having spent some time inside some of these, I hate them with a passion. This for me is very sad for the pigs, farmers, and for the customer as the end product is often not as good.
we neither shop for our veg or our meat in supermarkets
but then we prefer to taste what were eating ,shapes and colours on a plate just don`t do it !!!
From the British Pig Executive: “Rising feed prices mean that many British pig farmers are in danger of going out of business. In 2008, when the industry teetered on the brink of collapse, we presented a petition to 10 Downing Street, which played a key role in helping pig farmers get a fair price for pork and ultimately save the pig industry. Since 2008 farmers have invested in more efficient systems to deliver very high welfare, quality assured pork to meet growing demand. The situation for producers today is worse than in 2008. Unlike three years ago, current feed prices look likely to remain sky high well into 2012. Pig farmers are now facing major financial losses. But at the same time supermarkets are still reporting record profits. We need those supermarkets and processors to remember the lessons of 2008 and pay pig producers a fair price - before it’s too late."
From here;
Sign up to support pig farmers here;
Rally on Whitehall here;