The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: BillyBerridge on June 29, 2009, 08:12:34 pm
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Anyone watching this tomorrow night?
http://www.pigbusiness.co.uk/
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we are. saw an ad for it last week.
Cheers
Gavin
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Yip, I'll be watching and shouting at the TV too !
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I saw a trailer for this programme earlier on and was really disgusted by what I saw. I just could not believe my eyes as to what is going on.
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What channel, and at what time please.
Regards,
Morgan
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For those of us without access could someone please post a summary after its aired. Thanks
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I think it's on More4 tonight at 10pm.
For those who can't get it, you may be able to watch it on Channel 4's website afterwards.
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Not me, dont have tele, cant even get it on the computer.
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I started to watch it, but it was a bit too upsetting for me. Did anyone make it to the end of the programme?
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I recorded it but not watched it yet is it horrible?
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HM........... http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/the-big-food-fight/pig-business_p_1.html it's not on 4OnDemand or Catch Up yet,but will look for it elsewhere....... Ree
Edit; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkd8uPFjZfo the trailer for it
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Dixie the part I watched was about the pig factories in America and Eastern Europe. The conditions the pigs are kept in and how it affects the local people and environment. The part I found upsetting was seeing the pigs in those conditions and how they are treated....some secret camera footage that was particularly distressing.
Let's hope lots of people did watch it though and realise they should be eating British pork from a local source.
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I;ll try to watch it, sadly though its people like us that watch these things and yet we've already got the message, some I know would rather stay ignorant and not want to know and yet they are the ones that NEED to know! I do try to convince people, especially a veggie who cant grasp how I can eat the animals I've bred and reared and yet she'll eat a burger outside a nightclub when drunk!! I just dont get it ::) (yes a beefburger)
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Had every intention to watch, but fell asleep on the sofa ::) Will try to watch on catch up. I did see the trailer though, and found it very difficult viewing :'(
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If they showed it in schools (probably be termed child abuse) they would convert a whole generation at a stroke.
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Hi there - yes I watched it - it was quite an eye opener what Smithfield have done to Poland and its small farmers.
They are actually saying that having the local community unemployed is not a problem, and can price you out of the meat market and devalue your pigs for fun.
This is the future they say, big producers undercutting in order to please their customers!
Their customers dictate to them their needs - their customers are not the end consumer - no - there the large corporate supermarkets like Wallmart, Asda, Tesco etc. Pek Pork and Spam makers - killing 33,000 pigs PER DAY - For Gods sake it really does make the rare breeds that we keep pretty rare, when some of our bloodlines have only eight pigs left in the WHOLE WORLD.
It really means that to fight this as smallholders, we need to stop buying meat at supermarkets and in tins completely and also get our general public more aware to buy from local producers - if this mass produced cruelty to pigs and polluting way is to be stopped, the shelves of the supermarkets carrying the stuff have to remain full and product not wanted at all - we recorded it - if anyone can tell me how to get it off sky box onto computer I will make it available as a download from my website - what was you feelings on the programme?
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Well said Tullywood.
From now on I will only buy pork products from ethical sources and this means in canteens, school cafeterias etc. I intend being a right pain-in-the-neck when I eat out in restaurants as well.
My own summer-reared weaners usually last six months and then I fall back on shop-bought rubbish. Not any more. Any producers in my neck of the woods (near Galway, Ireland) offering freezer-quantities for sale?
Congratulations are definiteley due to Channel 4 and the programme-makers.
It might be worthwhile if we all sent our public representatives a message to the effect that they get some legislation going in this area.
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Very well said, although could you not raise a couple more weaners for the freezer?
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I suppose I could but I've enough on my plate at the moment ;D
But checking on his/her location, I see that Tullywood is not a million miles from me.
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If anyone didn't catch it, you can get it from 4od, just go to channel 4's website.
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I watched it, too - and was totally disgusted. :o That kind of cruelty is totally unacceptable, and unnecessary.
How people can treat any animal like that is beyond me >:( >:(
How can the likes of Smithfield do whatever they like, with complete impunity....
Surely there was enough evidence in that programme for prosecution/s - cruelty being one, endangering public health being another - and, what about the environment?
It's enough to make my blood boil.
Iredon
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They get away with it because they are big (no tv so cant watch it) however if everyone who saw it told everyone they knew and all those people stopped buying from the source..... then one way or another changes would have to be made. Most people will just turn off the telly and carry on buying.
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Hi Hilarysmum,
Yes, they get away with it because they're big. Here's the thing, though. Poland is a member of the EU. The EU has rather a lot of animal welfare laws, environmental protection laws etc. eg. A neighbour of mine lit a fire outside recently - it was a wood fire, and enclosed with blocks, intended for a home-built barbecue. The environment officer was at his door the following morning....
So, I decided to do a little research on our EU lawmakers, and I'm horrified!!!!
To cut a long story short, big companies like Smithfield pay lobbyists. These lobbyists go to the EU (I won't bore you with a description of the three bodies involved, you can find the info on any political discussion site, though NOT the names or qualifications of the ultimate lawmakers)
Said lobbyists come up with a reason for changing/amending the law - the usual excuse is a "level playing field" - now how you can "level" the different climatic conditions for, say, crops, is beyond me........
And here's the real stinger..... over 90% of these "amendments" never go before the European parliament, or get voted on by our well-paid MEPs. ???
So, basically, our laws are now controlled by the big corporations.... now that can't be good for any of us.
And if the Lisbon treaty is ratified, the entire European population will basically be reduced to being the serfs of the Multinational companies.
Seems to explain why these guys get to do whatever they like, then have the rest of us penalised for it >:( >:(
Democracy? Yeah, right!
Donard
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That's just one reason i'm voting no the Lisbon treaty (again). Does anyone else find it a bit bizarre that in a democracy ;) when you vote no, they can tell you that you voted the wrong way and make you vote again. I know what they'd call that sort of behaviour if it happened in Iran or Nth Korea.
The documentary clearly showed how the industrialisation of farming has devestating consequences for the environment and for small farmers. To me it means that the prized 'fast buck' is placed well above animal welfare, and feed quality. I think that the more programmes like this and Jamie Olivers 'Saving our bacon' get aired the more people will be educated to the dross that they are eating. I would also love to see a law passed where every product must be labeled with a picture of the animals being reared....now that'd open a lot of eyes!
Regards,
Morgan
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I'll be voting "No" , too.
I have a horrible feeling they'll get it accepted this time, though. Unless the French and German politicians decide to threaten us again...... that could prove helpful again LOL.
Donard
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I'm a 'no' as well. I think it's unfair that people in so many European countries don't have a vote at all.
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A vote? Now that would be nice.
I saw the film and was disgusted, but far from surprised. Our "free" market economics benefit nobody but the mega-corporations in the long run. Try walking along any high street in the UK to see just how many small businesses are still there.
As far as animal welfare is concerned, we can only keep pushing the message and producing our free range pork. I never have trouble selling the stuff so there's a real desire for good quality, humanely-produced meat out there.
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I think pushing the message to the man in the street is pointless, unless the produce is freely available on the supermarket shelves, alongside the mass- produced rubbish.
The other possibility is REAL farmers markets - charging affordable prices. That's one thing that has been abused by traders, who have nothing to do with producing the stuff, and are just selling mass- produced products at hugely inflated prices.
I have bought food at farmers markets in the past, supposedly locally produced, only to find it was imported or mass produced. When challenged the following week, the stallholder in question tried telling me that the vegetables in question were "out of season, and not available locally right now".
You should have seen his face when I told him I was raised on a farm, and knew perfectly well when local produce was in season - and what it should taste like.
A complaint to the market manager didn't help, either. He said they needed the money from the stallholders to pay rent. It's a shame, because I'd love to buy locally produced food, and I can't....and I'm right in the middle of a farming community.
Donard
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Supermarkets did not just appear out of thin air, they evolved because with busy lives its so much simpler to shop in one shop, then we work longer hours to afford all the luxuries they tell us are necessities, then they sting us for premium food which is not even as good quality as what was once bought as normal food, make us feel guilty for not utilising their premium products and then b;00 dy well mislabel their premium food so we think we are getting rare breed, free range etc. etc. and pay even more for food that frankly the producer was paid less for than the packing merchant.
So we the consumer need to stand up and be counted. Dont know how just feel its time we fought back. Perhaps some eco hero may emerge on here whom we may all follow. Because until the majority say no big business will rule the world, and dictate what and how and where we the normal people should live in it.
Not being offered the chance to vote on the Lisbon Treaty I hope everyone who can will use their vote!!
Rant over for now.
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No eco-hero needed, Hilarysmum - just a couple of people who are willing to co-operate.
Say, 3-4 people who live in the same area, producing different items. Say, pork, potatoes, fresh veg. fruit, and/or food products made from a selection of said products. If these people drew up an agreement (doesn't have to be hugely complicated, just the terms of the arrangement, witnessed, to safeguard everyones interests ) to sell one anothers products at a market (or 2, depending on the area), then that would cut down the transportation cost and workload for all of them... Ok, i wouldn't work for all of us, but there are bound to be some people on this forum who could make it work!!
I can't think of any reason why a thread couldn't be started asking for names , locations, and produce available for anyone interested.
From that, it has to be possible to work out who can produce what, and ideas on where to sell - whether markets, car boot sales, or whatever.
I've had lots of people express interest in pork as soon as they heard I had pigs, especially bacon "like it used to taste".
I can't see why things would be different anywhere else?? People just don't know where to buy decent food - my solution is to produce my own, but remember the biggest companies all started small.............. (Then they got greedy, which I hope wouldn't happen in this case)
It seems to me to be the only way of fighting back.
Donard
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Sounds good
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Some good food ;D for thought there Donard. The 'farmers' markets around me are very much hit-and-miss affairs. You are more like to find a few new-agers with scraggly tomato plants than any real decent produce. Though I suppose it's a start.
I would have gone along to sell myself if I wasn't completely incompetent at selling and if ever I had enough surplus produce at the one time. So the idea of sharing could be a breakthrough.
Regards,
Muc
By the way I gather by the fact that you have a vote on Lisbon that you are in Ireland. Maybe we could get a Pig People organisation going.
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Muc
By the way I gather by the fact that you have a vote on Lisbon that you are in Ireland. Maybe we could get a Pig People organisation going.
I can give you some contacts that would be interested in joining - I was going to set up a group in Eire but after my experience with other groups we have decided its not for us too time consuming and far too many "Morgan's" in this world :o ;D ;) (Only joking Ha Ha - but many a true word spoken in jest!)
Good luck though - it is a good idea - We know a lot of people in the South who would love to have "Just for fun and the kids Pig Shows" :pig:
You know Curliest Tale - one with the most spots - etc. There is nothing on pigs in the local agricultural shows - and it would be good for family days out.
Good idea - good luck with it = pm us if you want contacts
Kind regards
Julie and Joe
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Hi Muc,
(by the way, for all you people who don't speak Irish, Muc means "pig")
Yes, I'm in Eire, way up in Northwest Donegal, though I don't know how much help I can be (location + being a newbie to pigs) What did you have in mind?
Donard
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(by the way, for all you people who don't speak Irish, Muc means "pig")
Gives a whole new meaning to happy as a pig in muck. (Sorry couldnt resist it - blame a stressful day).
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Life would be a terrible place if we couldn't have a wee joke and a laugh ;D
And Julie on behalf of all the 'Morgan's' of this world, thanks for the compliment, even if it wasn't meant as one ;D ;D
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Sorry if I'm being a bit thick, but who's Morgan? Sausagesandcash? I'm lost!
Donard
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Lol, that'd be me. ;D
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(by the way, for all you people who don't speak Irish, Muc means "pig")
Gives a whole new meaning to happy as a pig in muck. (Sorry couldnt resist it - blame a stressful day).
LOL.
Donard
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Seems to be a lot of Irish on this site - I wonder if the people/pig ratio is higher here.
Well Donard, I'm afraid I don't have any plan worked out but I do think that we non-factory pig fanciers need an organisation to promote our position. I have heard of pig-keepers being bullied by Department (Ministry) officials over not having effluent run-offs, seperate feeders and drinkers for each pig and a lot more nonsense that shouldn't apply to free-range pig-keepers.
Also, we could arrange sales for those who are in a commercial way. Personally, I would buy from a home producer and distribute and even organise for a stall in one of the local farmers' markets to sell the produce.
I found that Channel 4 programme really turned me off ever buying 'pork' in a shop again.
Do our fellow-posters in the UK have an organisation? Or in France?
Regards, Muc
PS Thanks for blowing my cover.
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Regards, Muc
PS Thanks for blowing my cover.
LOL. Great name, though!
I will give your suggestion some thought, so far I've been confining myself to thinking up suggestions for any potential sellers.
I have posted on another forum (mainly computing and electronics, but covers a multitude), and several people have expressed an interest in buying "real" meat, though they seem more interested in beef.
That's one possible free advertising space, if we could come up with an " umbrella" name for the produce!
The product needs to be good, though, because I'm not risking my reputation on that forum! (I'm a SuperVIP and not planning to lose face, thanks!)
Iredon
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"Do our fellow-posters in the UK have an organisation? Or in France?"
Yes there is LACEF which works tirelessly to promote outdoor rearing, good stockmanship and very high levels of animal welfare. Their events usually incorporate a free range, high quality product meal - one practical way of showing people the difference.
There is also PIF which is more a website for smallholders, which does sterling work in encouraging free range and from this a couple of smallholder groups have startd up. Its very small yet, but its a start.
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Thanks HM. I found the LACEF website and it has lots of info and food for thought.
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Hi yes its run by a very dedicated group of people (not me I just sit on the sidelines and enjoy the fruits of all their hard work) and its getting a lot of interest.