A pig farmer has joined the campaign to highlight the way cheap foreign imports are threatening the British pig industry.
The Trojan Pig, being used by the National Pig Association in its campaign for clearer labelling, visited Kenniford Farm, near Exeter, this week. Pig farmer Andrew Freemantle said: 'Just as the Greeks used a giant wooden horse to sneak soldiers into Troy, cheap, low-welfare imports are being slipped in under the noses of unwitting British shoppers.'
He has called on the public to look for the Quality Standard mark when buying pork, bacon, ham and sausages. This is a guarantee that the pork has been reared using humane methods. Six years ago, the UK banned the use of stalls and tethers on welfare grounds. But this progressive measure has backfired on British farmers as foreign pork, reared in a way outlawed here, has undercut the home-produced product.
Since the legislation was passed, Mr Freemantle said that the number of pig farms in this country had halved. Nearly three-quarters of all pork consumed here comes from abroad. 'It is a waste of time improving livestock systems unless you ban imports of cheaper meat reared to lesser standards,' he said.
Ambiguous labelling by supermarkets made it difficult to identify where the pork was from. And imported pork processed here was often misleadingly labelled to give the impression that it was British. At Kenniford Farm, the pigs are raised on straw and are free to move around. Mr Freemantle keeps 280 sows and sells 5,500 pigs a year. He said: 'If we don't tell people about the production systems and how are pigs are kept in better conditions, the supermarkets won't do it for us.'
Now he sells 20 per cent through his own farm shop while the remaining 80 per cent goes to Morrisons and carries the Quality Standard mark. 'Supermarkets have got to pay more than lip service to caring for the environment and looking after their producers. 'When you get down to the nitty-gritty they just want to buy pig meat from the cheapest place they can. Invariably, it means importing more from the Continent.'
Barney Kay, of the National Pig Association, said it was not an anti-import campaign. 'All we are asking for is a level playing field to allow British pig farmers to compete. Unclear labelling gives importers an advantage and deceives British consumers.
'We would urge consumers who are concerned about this issue to look carefully at the label to make sure they can tell where it is from.'