The sickening reason bacon is so cheap
Closer investigates the horrors of pork farming and the true price of buying low-cost meat
Every year, the bacon industry is worth a huge £900 million in the UK, with 11 million pigs slaughtered annually to satisfy British shoppers’ craving for the salt-cured meat.
Yet, despite being a nation of animal lovers, most people aren’t aware of the horrific conditions the majority of them are kept in.
Most pigs bred for meat are kept in warehouses with little to no natural light. Up to 40 animals are crammed into enclosures with such limited space, they are often unable to lie down to sleep on the concrete floor.
Shockingly, an estimated 93 per cent of pigs bred in the UK are factory farmed in this way, and although most shoppers consider pig welfare important, many farmers are seemingly unwilling to make the animals’ wellbeing a priority.
DESPERATE
Founder of vegan charity Viva!, Juliet Gellatley has been raising awareness about pig farms since she saw the shocking conditions first-hand in 1979, when she was investigating a farm at just 15-years-old.
She says, “I’m still haunted by the desperate pig I saw 40 years ago. He was trapped in a dingy shed with no natural light and salivating at the mouth – a sign of severe stress. He looked like he truly wanted a better life.”
Since then, the animal welfare campaigner has investigated 60 farms across the UK. She says, “Factory farming conditions are only getting worse. Most of the farms I’ve inspected have industrial sheds full of hundreds of pigs, sometimes so cramped they can’t move or sleep.
CONFINED
“Pigs are highly intelligent creatures, who display trust, empathy, grief and joy. Experts suggest they’re brighter than dogs and have the brain capacity of a three-year-old child – so it’s no wonder they’re driven mad with boredom and frustration in factory farms. Sows resort to gnawing on metal bars, and in extreme cases, cannibalism. The sheds are so filthy that disease quickly spreads, including respiratory problems from the choking smell.”
The issue of poor pig welfare first hit the headlines in 1999, when sow stalls – tight metal cages used to contain sows for their 16-week pregnancy – were made illegal in the UK. And in 2000, the
Red Tractor scheme was launched to set an industry standard for all farming. But, according to Juliet, little has changed since then.
BAD CONDITIONS
She says, “Consumers want better welfare for pigs, but twenty years on from the launch of Red Tractor, there hasn’t been much progress. Shoppers may believe they are buying higher-welfare pork when they see the assurance label, but pigs raised in their approved farms can be kept on concrete flooring, with no straw or bedding. And sows can be confined to farrowing crates for five weeks while they suckle their piglets – which will head to slaughter at six months old, despite their natural lifespan being 15 years.
“In the wild, mother pigs walk for miles to gather nesting materials for piglets, but these cruel cages are so small the sow can hardly move. Sadly, piglets often die when they become trapped between their mother and the concrete floor. Few pigs make it to four years old – those that do will live a miserable, painful existence, being intensively bred, then killed for cut-price meat. This is the true cost of cheap pork. The industry needs to overhaul their standards – these animals are being failed.”
LEGISLATION
In some supermarkets, you can buy bacon for just 95p. In July this year, Tesco stopped using Red Tractor assured pork from Hogwood Farm, after several exposés by Viva! revealed piles of rotting animal corpses and pigs subjected to filthy conditions.
Natasha Smith, UK Campaigns Manager at Compassion in World Farming, says, “The UK government needs to follow the example of other countries, who have
❛ PIGS ARE BRIGHTER THAN DOGS AND ARE AS INTELLIGENT AS A THREE-YEAR-OLD CHILD ❜
stricter welfare laws to protect pigs. In Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, routine use of farrowing crates is prohibited in favour of higher-welfare, cage-free systems which allow sows to express their natural behaviours.
“Britain prides itself on its high animal welfare standards, but over half of UK mother pigs are confined in these cruel cages for weeks at a time, forced to feed their piglets through bars. Many consumers are completely unaware that this cruelty goes on behind closed doors and are unwittingly supporting these inhumane systems when shopping for pork products.
“Eventually, I hope all pigs will be able to enjoy the happy life they deserve.”
A spokesperson for Red Tractor said, “We take animal welfare and sustainability seriously. Since established in 2000, we have continually evolved our standards to improve food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection, so that they are among the best in the world.
“Pork carrying the Red Tractor label can be free-range, outdoor or from a variety of indoor farming systems. The majority of Red Tractor pigs are on straw and we inspect all accredited farms more often than any other assurance scheme or government inspection system in the UK to ensure that animals are well-looked after.”
A Tesco spokesperson said, “These were distressing and unacceptable scenes, which fell well below the high animal welfare standards we require from all of our suppliers, which is why we asked our supplier, Cranswick, to stop all supply from Hogwood.”