[Fowgill Farm]

   Thought this might be of interest. they gave me a call yesterday thinking i had a massive commercial herd   Mandy
 
   The Pig Idea (www.thepigidea.org) essentially aims to promote the practice of recycling legally permissible food waste to feed pigs, where it is not suitable for human consumption, or is it too larger a quantity to be redistributed to the likes of food banks etc. In the long run we aim to challenge the law around catering waste in order to lift this ban.
 The Feeding the 5000 team in partnership with Wahaca Mexican Restaurants (www.wahaca.co.uk) will be rearing 8 pigs in London's very own Stepney City Farm from the end of may. The pigs will be cared for by the farm and will be fed on a healthy diet based primarily on food waste that can be legally fed to pigs, donated by local food businesses. Towards the end of the first stage of the campaign we will be holding a large public feast event in Trafalgar Square where the pork will be served alongside other meals created from food that would have otherwise gone to waste.  Our website will be launched officially at the end of the month and will have lots more information available about activities we have going on.  If you've got any questions about the campaign feel free to drop me an email and I'll be happy to answer.  All the best, 
--
 Edd Colbert Campaign & Research Internwww.feeding5k.org www.thepigidea.org tel: +44 (0) 2030518633m: +44 (0) 7580007740Follow us @www.twitter.com/#!/Feeding5k https://www.facebook.com/feeding5000
Sign the Feeding the 5000 pledge against food waste! www.feeding5k.org

[David @ Hector Blooms]

That's a brilliant idea, commercial herd or not, I'm sure all pig keepers/breeders could benefit from free permissable food waste, given that the prices of feeds keeps rising and would possibly reduce the risk of food waste going into landfill sites.
I thought of approaching local shops and asking about waste products before I got the weaners but what would be classed as  permissable food waste? usually raw veg/fruit I'm guessing but is there anything more allowed (obviously kitchen cooked or meat products would be discounted)?
Still a good idea if the scheme works, it'll open up avenues to livestock keepers/breeders (although the government would find a way to tax it, like the limits on bio-diesel usage, lol)

[SallyintNorth]

I wish them every success - but...

The problem, as I understand it, is that any organisation which would like to donate or sell its waste to be used for pig feed has to get their operation approved by the local Environmental Health (and/or Animal Health - not exactly sure which body or bodies it is.)  Even a wholly vegetarian or even vegan restaurant can't bypass this step .

So it would be a relatively significant undertaking for the waste-producers; in the case of any restaurants which aren't wholly vegetarian or vegan, I can't imagine that it would even be possible for them to contribute much more than veg peelings etc - and even then, they'd have to demonstrate that no such waste could possibly have been contaminated with meat by-products.  So veg would have to be held in a area where no meat could ever be, peeled / processed in a area where no meat could ever be, knives etc would have to be used in that area only and never for meat, etc etc etc.  You'd have to be the sort of business that's ethical first and for profit second to entertain the idea, I'd think.

However, the extremely limited information on the website states that "science has shown that cooking leftover food renders it safe for pigs" - is this true?  They give no references...  But if that's right, then perhpas it could be possible to gather unapproved waste food and turn it into safe pig feed - would anyone else be interested in setting up a food waste processing plant?  Sounds like a great business idea... All they have to do is get the legislation changed right across Europe...

I wish I didn't feel so skeptical.  It angers and pains me that so much material goes to landfill that should be being used to produce more food, so if these folks really can pull it off I'd give them my wholehearted support.  I just think that changing legislation is a tough road to travel and takes many many years...

[Rosemary]

Well, without some change, I don't see how pig keeping in the UK (or Europe) is sustainable. On a global scale, importing soya from South America just isn't goibg to work in the long term.

[Hassle]

Swill is bad just illegal practices. The government won't back down though FMD was in the region of cost to uk 30 billion iirc

[Tiva Diva]

Even without changing the law, permissible food from fruit & veg growers, wholesalers and retailers could be recycled as pig feed. Non-permitted food can be made safe by cooking at a high enough temperature: the 2001 FMD outbreak was supposed to have been caused by inadequately cooked swill. I'd like to be able to feed our pigs on waste meat from other animals from our land (eg rabbits) but I share Sally's pessimism about changing legislation. (More anarchists needed!) But recycled veg would be a great start. Our pigs get the pomace from a local producer of apple juice. They love it, and it saves money for both the apple juice man and us 

[Bodger]

My pig idea, is that my punters are able to wander through the orchards and then happen on a small outdoor herd of pigs living in arks on grass behind electric fences. I already feed the pigs on apple waste during the cider making season and they're also fed on waste bread that I obtain from a local bakery, so I guess that in many ways, I'm already there.
 
In the past, I've obtained waste from the local green grocers, but unfortunately, those grocers have been put out of business by the supermarkets and of course, they wont let you anywhere near any of their waste. What a waste !

[Mr Pig]

This chipping away at the rules governing the feeding of waste food to pigs is damaging as it encourages some who may read these and other posts without contributing to go away and think they can safely ignore the rules.
 
Feeding swill was widespread (relatively speaking) in the UK until the early 1970s when Swine Vesicular Disease (SVD) outbreaks occured linked to such practices. The law was then tightened to increase the cooking temperatures for swill causing a lot of people to give up and switch to more conventional feeding methods. It was only outlawed (throughout the EU, not just in the UK) when, as Tiva Diva says, the Foot & Mouth crisis of 2001 was linked to an outfit - I cannot call it a farm - breaking the rules. Given this history and the fact that there is no doubt that Foot and Mouth and Swine Fever and other notifiable diseases are almost always caused by feeding inappropriate feed to pigs, I don't think anyone can complain that the authorities haven't given every chance for responsible feeding of kitchen waste to work.
 
Most people on this Forum - note I stated 'most' not 'all' - were not keeping stock in 2001 but I can assure you that anyone who was caught up in that living hell would do everything in their power to ensure it never happens again and if that means condeming The Pig Idea before it begins then count me in.
 
Just for the record, I do have personal experience of swill feeding in the 1950s and rather than a romantic excursion in eco-living, it is a practice that has huge implications. Firstly the smell. Pigs have a reputation for smelling foul but I'm sure that your's don't. The reason for the reputation was the swill, not the pigs. It not only caused the pigs to stink, but also all the equipment, vehicles etc involved and the people! There was a lovely man who I served on a show committee with in the 1960s who was scrupulously clean and attended meetings in smart suit and shiny shoes straight from the bath but you could smell him coming down the corridor 20 yards away - he fed his pigs on swill and the stink never left his skin.
 
Then there's the finishing of the pigs. You could not judge the consistency of the carcases because you had no control over tha balance of protein, carbohydrate etc that you were feeding to the pigs. The meat was often 'greasy' and unpleasant. Beleive me, it was nothing like the high quality pork you can produce today.
 
There's lots of good things we can do with waste food in this country rather than feed it to pigs. It can produce energy and compost and doesn't need to be wasted.
 
So please, let all pig keepers be responsible and remember that whilst we can put our thoughts into public view, we cannot control how others may read and interpret them and use them to push the boundaries in a way than none of us wish.
 
Here endeth the lesson.

[Berkshire Boy]

I agree with you Mr Pig. I think it works fine as it is, I have no intention of risking my herd or anyone elses by feeding swill.

[Fowgill Farm]

I would not feed cooked swill to my pigs but i do object to the amount of fruit & vegetable waste that goes into landfill and the like when it could certainly be used by not only animals but humans too! The trouble is the world is now governed by sell and use by dates and the populace has been brainwashed into believing that after that date they're for the bin. My SIL is one of the OMG it runs out tomorrow chuck it in the bin brigade whereas i sniff it, look at it and judge for myself whether its eatable or not!
There are always people who will abuse rules which is why we're in the situation we are now that NOTHING goes for animal feed. I agree legislation won't change but people really need to think long term about where their meat is going to come from and how its going to be fed or start to pay the real price for wheat and soya based fed meat.
mandy
 

[Eastling]

I agree with Mr Pig and Mandy. I think I saw a programme where chefs were making meals for people from food that had past it's sell by date from rubbish bins outside supermarkets.

[Edd Colbert]

Hi all,

It's been very interesting reading the comments on swill and legally permissible food waste on this thread and thank you to Mandy for her orignal post. The Pig Idea campaign is looking for contributors to its blog in the form of short case studies of feeding pigs food waste, and stories of swill feeding before the ban. Any enquiries should be sent to campaign@thepigidea.org

I look forward to hearing from you,

Edd Colbert
Campaign Coordinator
The Pig Idea

[David @ Hector Blooms]

Reading a few of the earlier posts, I can see the possibilities for error with regards meat products regardless of the high temperature cooking etc.  As far as I can see, any infection/bacteria can mutate and therefore a possible threat to livestock (no cure for common Cold due to this mutation etc.) but as for fruits and vegetables, I see no problem.   I'm in the same train of thought as Bodger with regards Orchard produce for the pigs (I have GOS, these are the breed that I intend to keep/rear/breed in the future, as they used to be known as Orchard pigs).
I bought my 1st Apple twig (well, that's what it looked like) 6 weeks ago and is flourishing although 4-5 years before fruiting but I'm looking at the bigger picture here
No matter what we feed our animals, it's their welfare that is the upmost importance, a short happy life is better than a long miserable existence...Happy animals, nicer tasting produce I think