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Author Topic: Meishans  (Read 28275 times)

Berkshire Boy

  • Joined May 2011
  • Presteigne, Powys
Re: Meishans
« Reply #15 on: January 18, 2012, 12:31:09 pm »
They were at the front of the queue when they handed out ugly and went back for seconds.  :o  I think I will stick to supporting British rare breeds.
Everyone makes mistakes as the Dalek said climbing off the dustbin.

Rispain

  • Joined Jan 2012
Re: Meishans
« Reply #16 on: January 18, 2012, 12:41:49 pm »
Ha ha berkshire boy, you are not wrong there, but don't judge a book by its cover. if the meat is good, thats good enough for me. But yes they hit every branch on the way down the ugly tree. They have super personalities though  ;)

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: Meishans
« Reply #17 on: January 18, 2012, 12:48:49 pm »
I dunno  ::) I feel as if I have a particular affinity with the one in this top photo  ;) :D :D :D

And if you want ugly......how about the Red River Hog ?  :o ;D

chickenfeed

  • Guest
Re: Meishans
« Reply #18 on: January 18, 2012, 01:56:07 pm »
Hundreds of thousands may be a slight exageration but certainly thousands, they buy them as finished pigs and process them here in the uk then because of our pathetic labelling laws they can be classed as 'British' bacon, ham etc. Check out a pack of 'Wiltshire cured' ham for example from the supermarket it will say processed in the uk from EEC sourced meat! Legally they can call it British same as the cheapo sausages, cheap pigs from abroad kept in scurrilous conditions processed here, No wonder British pig farmers who have the highest welfare standards and keep to the EEC laws (unlike some others we can mention) have a hard time making money when this is what they're up against. People are easily duped by labelling into believing they're buying a British product Sainsburys sell a pack of Ham which says it supports Help for Heroes so you would assume it was British ham...WRONG.. its imported. If only people would spend time reding the labels on thier purchases i'm sure some people would change their buying habits.
Mandy  :pig:



now this is a subject close to my heart we at ladies in pigs spend alot of time trying to support british pork and explain how the supermarket labels work but as soon as we think we are getting somewhere the suppermarkets pull a fast one, like the support for heros imported pork it comes labeled with the union jack but on closer inspection the small print tells you of its non uk origin and lets face it not everyone goes around checking the origin of every purchase. the other week i went into our local butchers he had all the posters up british pork & bacon, english lamb and beef  :o and then i saw his danish bacon in the cabinet i know the butcher and when he asked why the confused look i pointed it out to him he said he brought in in because it was cheap, i came home minus my intended purchase one more shop to cross off my list.

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: Meishans
« Reply #19 on: January 18, 2012, 02:15:31 pm »
now this is a subject close to my heart we at ladies in pigs spend alot of time trying to support british pork and explain how the supermarket labels work but as soon as we think we are getting somewhere the suppermarkets pull a fast one, like the support for heros imported pork it comes labeled with the union jack but on closer inspection the small print tells you of its non uk origin and lets face it not everyone goes around checking the origin of every purchase.
I have to agree that the supermarkets aren't great at truthful labelling or 'artwork' on and around the products. How many folk would buy pork or eggs if they saw intensive, indoor conditions  ??? But Mr TescAsburys just slaps a photo of some happy outdoor animals on and (the majority) of people assume it's been living in a field and happy with that buy some. The fact that some of them call their pork outdoor when only the sows and unweaned piglets live outside, shows how sneaky they are when it comes to 'image' selling  ::)

What can be done Chickenfeed ? Would it take a FSA intervention on labelling or would they still find a way round it do you think ? This might be a topic best started on a seperate thread ? I suspect there will be many views on it  ;)

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Meishans
« Reply #20 on: January 18, 2012, 03:42:56 pm »
Hundreds of thousands may be a slight exageration but certainly thousands, they buy them as finished pigs and process them here in the uk then because of our pathetic labelling laws they can be classed as 'British' bacon, ham etc. Check out a pack of 'Wiltshire cured' ham for example from the supermarket it will say processed in the uk from EEC sourced meat! Legally they can call it British same as the cheapo sausages, cheap pigs from abroad kept in scurrilous conditions processed here, No wonder British pig farmers who have the highest welfare standards and keep to the EEC laws (unlike some others we can mention) have a hard time making money when this is what they're up against. People are easily duped by labelling into believing they're buying a British product Sainsburys sell a pack of Ham which says it supports Help for Heroes so you would assume it was British ham...WRONG.. its imported. If only people would spend time reding the labels on thier purchases i'm sure some people would change their buying habits.
Mandy  :pig:
Yes I think we need to be on a new thread - but before we go, please can I confirm... Mandy, the situation you describe sounds as though live pigs are being imported then slaughtered and processed here?  Is that what you mean?
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: Meishans
« Reply #21 on: January 18, 2012, 05:50:40 pm »
Mandy calm down or you will be getting barred as i did
what possible use can they be    there is no lard market in the UK    goggling them  a lb of cooked ham sells for $80 in America       there importation can only be to make money    how can you guarantee that they will not end up as pets         the red river hoggs are at Edinburgh zoo   
British pigs are exported to Europe and re imported processed(cheale meats do the killing)
any pigs coming back to the UK will be in refrigerated lorries
Britain is not self sufficient in pork and is driven by the price in Europe  :farmer:

Daisys Mum

  • Joined May 2009
  • Scottish Borders
Re: Meishans
« Reply #22 on: January 18, 2012, 06:08:56 pm »
I dunno  ::) I feel as if I have a particular affinity with the one in this top photo  ;) :D :D :D

Having looked at available pictures would wonder if they suffer from eye problems like shar pei dogs do with all the folds around the eye area
Anne

Rispain

  • Joined Jan 2012
Re: Meishans
« Reply #23 on: January 18, 2012, 08:50:22 pm »
Well of course we all do things to make money, Robert. your tamworths and your other breeds, I don't suppose you give them away and I would like to think and hope you make a profit of sorts.  And of course there is no large lard market, but if you want something a bit different and want to have a go, they do make good lard pigs. To be honest, I don't understand people getting their knickers in a twist for a project that I am doing. I support and breed traditional breeds and have done for over 10 years including large blacks, OSB GOS and tamworths, so if I want to dip my toes into breeding meishans then I will. I personally feel there is an even limited market for these pigs then traditional breeds but who knows, it will be exciting to see and I am looking forward to them coming over. If anyone is interested, I can send more photos and also photos of the meat which is highly marbled.
« Last Edit: January 18, 2012, 09:14:00 pm by Rispain »

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: Meishans
« Reply #24 on: January 18, 2012, 09:19:32 pm »
not my nickers in a twist   bet you are not selling them at the same price you get for all the rest of your pigs
nobody is stopping you getting and breeding maishans and if you cant be enthusiastic about them  then what is your point
if they were quick maturing to slaughter weight  then yes
the conditions we have had in Scotland there pot bellies would be trailing in the muck  :farmer:
« Last Edit: January 18, 2012, 09:21:33 pm by robert waddell »

Rispain

  • Joined Jan 2012
Re: Meishans
« Reply #25 on: January 18, 2012, 09:25:56 pm »
No you are right we won't be selling them at the same price which is £65 for meat pigs and £85 for breeding, we have yet to set a price, however I am keen to recoup the cost of importing them quite quickly which is quite alot, that to me makes good business sense. I also don't have to justify the price, we look at the costs and set it from there, a bit like you do really with your pigs surely, unless you sell at a loss.
And they do take a while to mature for meat, which all adds to the taste of them. Not too sure what you mean about the enthusiatic comment.
« Last Edit: January 18, 2012, 09:28:16 pm by Rispain »

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: Meishans
« Reply #26 on: January 18, 2012, 09:45:35 pm »
there are to many parallels with the micro pigs as others have pointed out
no lard market 
slow growing =cost more to slaughter weight
cant realy see the point  o yes i can

Rispain

  • Joined Jan 2012
Re: Meishans
« Reply #27 on: January 18, 2012, 09:49:03 pm »
ha ha, got to laugh robert  : :D have you had dealings with micro owners, they wouldn't even entertain looking at the mishans never mind buying them, believe you me, they want pretty colourful things, even the piglets are ugly.
 You are able to slaughter meishans at around 6- 9 months which is when you take yours approximately isn't it robert  ;). Any longer and you run the risk of too much fat. So what point can you see  ;) and I suspect that most will want to try the meat rather than buy them for lard, which similar to our own breeds is wonderful tasting and excellent for joints.

And Realistically people are not going to spend thousands for an animal that is going to end up in the pot  :)
« Last Edit: January 18, 2012, 09:57:49 pm by Rispain »

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: Meishans
« Reply #28 on: January 18, 2012, 10:20:24 pm »
one thing saying you can slaughter them at 6-9 months   but at what weight you have to have age weight living and dead then boned out weight
it is hard enough to get them to part with even the prices you have quoted     good quality pedigree pigs cant find homes in these hard times :farmer:

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: Meishans
« Reply #29 on: January 19, 2012, 07:43:40 am »
there are to many parallels with the micro pigs as others have pointed out
no lard market 
slow growing =cost more to slaughter weight
cant realy see the point  o yes i can

I don't think these will be marketed in the same way as Micro's and Rispain is not a novice caught up on a whim  ;)
Mangalitza's are also considered a 'lard' pig - folk still keep them, everybody's got a favourite  :love: :pig: :love:
Slow growing doesn't neccessarily mean more cost - Kunes being a prime example of that  :thumbsup:

I know this is going to cause ructions, but I don't see a problem here  ???
I'm hugely passionate about preserving our rare breeds, before anyone thinks I'm fickle - remember Palacerigg  ;) ;D
IMHO a new breed coming into the UK (especially in the low numbers spoken about here) isn't going to have a detrimental effect on existing herds. I'm fairly sure there is Meishan in the commercial herd in the UK somewhere (in dilute form) but having pedigree animals, away from their country of origin provides back-up genetics which could prove very useful if there was any need for re-importation (in the case of a major disease outbreak, for example)

Look at the numbers of pigs already here, which weren't here originally or, which have left and come back (thinking Hampshires especially  ;)) surely import & export of pedigree pigs (not talking huge numbers of commercail porkers shipped from the EU) is a good thing for the breed & breeders ? And it's not always a money driven thing  ::) As I've said before (and I'm sure almost everyone will agree) if I wanted to be cash-rich I wouldn't be keeping pigs  ;) :D :thumbsup:

Karen  :wave:

 

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