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When I was a kid growing up on my parents' organic farm, we named my favourite pig Benny. Although I completely understood he was only in this world to be eaten at some point, I still got upset when the day came. I decided to go vegetarian that day, but it didn't work very well -- I just love meat too much. My dad said something I've used as a mantra ever since: "It's okay to eat meat if you make sure it comes from an animal that has lived a good life."
It's not always that easy making sure the animal you're eating has had a good life -- and yes, I have consumed some non-organic bacon sarnies and sausages since then -- but now Waitrose has just made my life as a meat-eater much easier. The supermarket has just announced that by the end of the year all fresh pork on its shelves, including the all-important bacon, will either be organic or free-range. It'll also be British, which actually helps with animal welfare.
It's the first supermarket in the UK to do this, and I'm happy to hear it. Earlier this year, Waitrose also decided to phase out suppliers that use the inhumane farrowing crates -- all this adds up in my book.
As EU standards have caught up with European pig farmers' inhumane production methods, massive "pork factories" from countries like Denmark have simply been moved to eastern Europe, where they can still get away with less humane production systems -- including using farrowing crates. These prevent the sow from moving around, meaning she can't get close to her piglets. Animal welfare campaigners also argue the crates can give the sow psychological stress.
Generally speaking, this move by Waitrose means there's a better chance that pork produced in the UK comes from pigs who have had a better life.
That said, beware that not all British pig farms have high animal welfare standards at all -- as Animal Aid's expose of ten pig farms yesterday revealed. Organic and free-range is the only safe way forward, so I applaud Waitrose's switch to support conscientious British pig farmers, but it's the promise that they must rear pigs according to free-range standards that makes me hungry for that Waitrose bacon buttie.
05 August 2008 04:26pm
Hi - this is all good news, but how are these animals slaughtered? The killing process can be very stressful for animals - especially pigs.
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