Thousands of Britons will be horrified to find out that the bacon and ham that they have been eating comes from pigs brought up under cruel farm conditions. Almost 70% of the pork imports would be illegal if they had been produced in Britain, as the appalling conditions which the pigs face are inhumane. In 1998, a ban was installed in Britain whereby pregnant sows were not allowed to be kept in cramped conditions, but this ban is not due to be in place in the rest of the European Union until 2013.

When the ban was put out, pig farmers all over the country were forced to spend thousands of pounds to make new homes for the pigs, and many farmers were unable to afford the changes. The number of pig farmers in the UK has drastically decreased, and the importing of pork has thus increased. So, although good living conditions are required for British pigs, more than half of the pork eaten in the country has been brought in from abroad, from pigs living under horrible conditions. Farmers in the UK have struggled to keep similar prices going, as they spend more to keep the animals in good conditions.

The Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee are demanding that supermarket products be labelled to inform people on the conditions in which the pigs were brought up. Although many people will still buy the cheapest product; others will opt to go for the pork from pigs who led a good life. Britons all over the country will be shocked at the conditions that the little piglets and their parents were forced to endure, and will hopefully take part in helping to make a change.

Tags: bacon, ban, conditions, Environment, EU, farmer, import, pig, piglet, pork, sow

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Environment, Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.