Jamie Saves Our Bacon – Or Does He?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 25 FEBRUARY 2009

Jamie Saves Our Bacon – Or Does He?

Pig Welfare Takes the Spotlight in Jamie Oliver’s Latest Expose

If you watched TV ONE last night at 8.30pm, you would have seen Jamie Saves our Bacon, the latest in Jamie Oliver’s The Great Food Fight expose series.

Jamie Saves our Bacon shines the light on the European pork industry with findings that will shock.

But, perhaps what’s more disappointing, is that Britain (where Jamie’s expose focuses its attention) has higher pig welfare standards than New Zealand.

Despite our clean, green reputation overseas, and the income it generates for the economy, New Zealand is far behind Britain when it comes to the housing of pigs.

The sad reality is that much of the pork farmed and imported into New Zealand is intensively farmed indoors with concrete pens and crates and is the exact opposite of what Jamie encourages everyone to support.

Sow crates – or sow stalls, as they are referred to in Britain – are already banned in the UK, with the EU planning to follow suit by 2013. Currently, New Zealand still has no plan in place to ban their use.

CEO of the New Zealand SPCA, Robyn Kippenberger, explains, “The use of sow crates (or stalls) is simply unacceptable. Intensively farming pigs using crates completely prevents pigs from being able to display any of their natural mothering behaviour. ”

Kippenberger continues, “. Jamie’s mission to encourage consumers to eat only cage free, more naturally farmed pork products has done wonders for ethical pork consumption in Britain, and I can only hope it will have the same effect here in New Zealand.”

Jamie encourages British consumers to buy British-reared pork to guarantee the pork they consume does not come from farms that use crates and cages.

However, it is a different case for New Zealand. The only way to ensure the pork or bacon you buy has been reared without crates or cages is to read the label: and check that it has the SPCA seal of approval.

Freedom Farms Free- farmed pork products – including bacon, sliced ham, whole and half hams, and fresh pork cuts – all come from Freedom Farms’ SPCA-approved NZ farms, meaning they are guaranteed to be raised without crates ,cages or pens.

Robyn Kippenberger stresses “the best way to improve the life of pigs is to only buy pork that carries the SPCA stamp of approval – regardless of whether it’s imported or New Zealand-raised pork”.

And as we all know, a happy piggie always makes the best tasting bacon.

ENDS

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