Right that's it

[smokingboot]

Saw less than 5 minutes of a Gordon Ramse(a?}y programme last night. Piglets, 7 to 9 weeks old being castrated without anaesthetic, even he looked shocked. The reasoning is that boar hormones mean their wee has a really strong smell. The little things screamed and screamed, and I am awake now because I heard them in my dreams. Pigs are clever, highly sentient. They think and they feel, unlike the chimpthings doing this to them.

Been vegetarian before, 5 years of it, though not properly as I never gave up fish. Not that healthy for me...surf and turf and sushi is the best kind of food for me cos I'm part crocodile. As of now, I am giving up all pork unless I know it has been farmed humanely. Bye bye bacon, bye bye sausages. I won't miss you a bit. I'll hear that sound in my head, and eat veggie burgers content.

Comments

[falco-biarmicus.livejournal.com]

Honey - just by British.

As you know, my bro is a pig farmer. Castration is not needed in this country because we cull the piglets younger - so the hormones have no chance to taint the meat. Any outdoor reared british pig is highly unlikely to be castrated.

Tail docking is another matter. Happy outdoor pigs play - and nip each others tails. Sow's are bad mums, and if they smell blood, they will eat whichever offspring is bleeding. And I can promise you that if the guy on the tv had held the piglets properly, they wouldn't have been screaming like that. Whenever I have docked their tails, there is a little grunt, and then you pop them back down on the floor and they happily go about their business.

So buy British outdoor reared meat. I can promise you it comes from happy pigs - and it may help keep the few decent farmers we have left in business.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Thank you for putting my mind at rest about some of the issues that have troubled me. It really helps. I'm certainly going to be careful about the source of my meat from now on.

[semyaza.livejournal.com]

I was vegetarian for over ten years. I thought it was an interesting thing to be, for awhile. I eat mainly chicken now because it's easy to get free-range, organic chicken. I occasionally eat other things (well, apart from the mounds of fruit and veggies), but pork is a problem. There's a farm on a nearby island that has organic pork but I've never seen it here. And really, there's no reason to eat pork, just as there's no earthly reason to eat veal. I wonder if lambs are castrated without anaesthetic?

[load-of-flannel.livejournal.com]

Not in this country no.... castrating animals of the age shown without anasthetic is Illegal in the UK. The footage shown was from Europe.

Large proportions of British Pork is free range raised in anycase... finding true organic is harder because of vaccinations and suchlike.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

I went veggie cos I developed a lump in my breast, and my mother showed me this study on Breast lumps in European Women. Apparently the ones who tended to get them most were meat eaters; southern europeans get them much less than northern ones, and on a milk free, meat free diet,a large percentage of the lumps grew smaller/disappeared. I took up the diet, and sure enough the thing went away.

[load-of-flannel.livejournal.com]

I would hasten to point out (incase you didn't see the whole programme...) That the footage was of European Pig farmers.

Such practices are illegal in Britain. Hence buying Danepack is significantly worse than buying British.

And Gordon.... hideous git tho he is.... was indeed shocked and swore never to eat mass produced meat products again.... I hope he applies this to the restraunts he controls as well.


If you want to be sure a good butcher should be able to tell you where they sourced the meat.

I applaud your stance which I believe is termed 'carnivore with a conciensce'

I would urge you to apply it to all other meat as well.

Depending on where you live and your access to a freezer many local small holders will happily sell you their meat direct after slaughter (at a humane abbatoire) which is about as close to source as you can get.

Would you like me to see if theres anyone in your local area (where do you live?)

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Yes, I would be very interested, thank you. I live in Royton, a few miles away from Oldham and Manchester.

[squintywitch.livejournal.com]

Welcome back (part way) to the fold. Remeber, though - all fish must be eaten.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

All fish? Is this not be kind to cod decade?