Consumers have the power to save pigs’ bacon say Freedom Foods (From Smallholder)

Consumers have the power to save pigs’ bacon say Freedom Foods

4:40pm Thursday 12th August 2010 in

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A survey by YouGov* for the RSPCA has found more than six out of 10 (64 per cent) shoppers who bought ham, sausages, bacon or pork in the last six months want to choose higher welfare products like Freedom Food or free range, but may not be able to because of a lack of clear labelling.

The majority of the 160 million pigs raised annually in Europe for meat are kept in conditions that do not meet some of their most basic needs, say the RSPCA.

In response, the charity has launched the Think Pig campaign to help consumers make an educated choice when buying sausages, bacon, ham and pork.

The survey found that 88 percent of grocery shoppers questioned had bought pork products in the last six months, so what they choose can make a real difference to pigs’ welfare.

Think Pig aims to harness consumers’ concerns about the way animals are treated and help them use their spending power by following the Think Pig checklist while out shopping.

The checklist asks people to only buy higher welfare pork products that display the Freedom Food logo - which means they have come from farms inspected to RSPCA welfare standards - or those labelled outdoor bred, outdoor reared, free range or organic.

These labels conform to the new voluntary labelling code for pork products developed by the RSPCA and BPEX* to which the majority of supermarkets have signed up.

“Consumers have the power to really improve pigs’ lives,” said Kate Parkes, a scientific officer from the RSPCA’s Farm animals Department. “The more people choose higher welfare labelled pork, the more pigs will be reared to better welfare standards.”

Many pigs are kept in overcrowded barren environments with no bedding or material for rooting and only slatted floors to lie down on.

The survey showed many shoppers are confused about labelling. When shown packaging of various pork products, for each product between 35 and 45 per cent of shoppers who had bought sausages, bacon, ham or pork in the last six months answered that they didn’t know how the pig was treated.

The RSPCA hopes that consumers will make the ethical choice and support higher welfare farming in the same way as they have with eggs and chicken. The number of eggs from caged birds sold has dropped by 11 per cent since 2004.

According to Leigh Grant, Freedom Food’s chief executive, the upsurge in consumer demand and spending on Freedom Food pork products is having a very direct impact on improving pig welfare.

“We have seen the number of pigs reared to RSPCA welfare standards dramatically increase by 26 per cent - from less than 1.6 million animals two years ago, to more than 1.9 million today as a direct result of consumer demand,” he said.

“That’s 400,000 more pigs having a better life under Freedom Food.” Concerned consumers are being asked to visit the RSPCA web pages (www.rspca.org.uk/thinkpig) for more information about the Think Pig checklist, further shopping advice and pig welfare information, sign up to its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/rspcathinkpig). A Think Pig news video will also be posted on You Tube.