From The Daily Caller, by Stephanie Wang, 07/11/2012 –

But the National Pork Producers Council, a farmers’ trade group, told The Daily Caller that the animal rights group was taking “alleg[ed] … paperwork  violations” and weaving them into a made-up environmental disaster.

And a food PR expert told The DC that the move was calculated to drive up costs for farmers who produce bacon, ham and other animal proteins.

HSUS said its targets in Iowa, North Carolina and Oklahoma failed to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s reporting  requirements for discharges of ammonia exceeding 100 pounds in a 24-hour  period.

“All of the operations put on notice today exceed this requirement, and in  some cases by vast amounts,” HSUS said in a press release. The group also  said many of the farms it plans to sue are members of the pork trade  group.

“It is important to point out that HSUS is not alleging environmental harm  but rather paperwork violations of EPA’s emissions reporting rule,” the National  Pork Producers Council said in a statement.

The episode has convinced some observers that the Humane Society of the  United States’ environmental watch-dogging has a hidden purpose.

“The Humane Society of the United States has a practice of attacking American  agriculture,” said Rick Berman, president of Berman and Company, a public  relations firm that focuses of issues surrounding food politics.

The group’s animal activists, Berman told TheDC, are “seeking to increase the  cost of food production involving animals.”

On its website, the Humane Society of the United States advocates for  vegetarianism. Wayne Pacelle, its CEO, is a dietary vegan, and eats no  animal products at all.

NPPC said its members’ emissions rates are still being evaluated by the EPA,  making it difficult to accurately report. Its statement also noted confusion  surrounding the initial 2009 law that required large-scale hog farms to report  emissions rates.

“There was widespread confusion about it, with some states refusing to accept  reports, one state claiming EPA notices to report emissions were an  Internet hoax and EPA’s Region 4 office initially telling producers and states  there was no reporting requirement,” the group said.

According to HSUS, the targets of its threatened lawsuits produce between 100  and 10,000 pounds of ammonia daily — a products of the “chemical breakdown of  animal manure and urine.”

While the animal rights group’s legal claims focus on some farms’ lapsed  reporting, its statement Wednesday blamed the farms for introducing new  environmental hazards by housing pregnant pigs in crates that limit their  mobility.

The pork trade group said it was reviewing the allegations of  noncompliance.

The Maschhoffs, a Carlyle, Illinois network of pork producers, said it “prides itself on full compliance with all regulations including proper  reporting of required environmental information.” The group said it was also  reviewing the animal activists’ accusations.

–

[Photos added]

Over the last few months I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in number of events that involve promoting pork to people who don’t typically interact with pig farmers. From the Boston Marathon in April, to Grandma’s Marathon in June, to the Oink Outing in Edina a few weeks ago, I’ve had a chance to give them a healthy, tasty sample of pork and more importantly talk to them about raising pigs.

The marathon events were just plain fun. While I enjoyed interacting with people at the Farmers Market Oink Outing in Edina, I had a number of conversations that made me realize how much people just don’t trust pig farmers anymore… and that makes me sad.

It seems there was a time when farming was a noble profession. Farmers didn’t make much money, but they were growing food for people, which was good. It also meant those people were free to get other jobs and not have to be farmers. Somewhere along the way, a few bad apples have ruined it for the rest of us and now the common thing to do is call all farmers “corporate farmers” who practice “factory farming.”  Ouch, that hurts.

I had people in Edina tell me they won’t eat meat because of the way animals were housed. When I told them about our farm and how we take care of pigs, you could see them make the mental transition to “Okay, now I trust you, but I don’t trust the other people.” So how do I explain to them that the vast majority of pig farmers in MN and the U.S. can be trusted, even if you don’t have the chance to meet with them. I want them to know that with the guidance of our veterinarians and consultants, we can make the right decisions on the welfare of our animals and we don’t need someone else making that choice for us.

I’ve never taken the trust of someone else for granted. I’ve tried to teach my kids that trust is an important part of someone’s character; it’s a measure of someone’s worth. So how do I explain to my kids that a whole new segment of society thinks we’re “worthless” and can’t be trusted to take care of the very animals that provide our livelihood.

Just as important, how do I get people to trust pig farmers again?

Today I am here in the Philippines. And as I mentioned in “The Situation Here” I understand the difficulty of trying to plan for and then implement projects to handle the growing population in this and many other Asian countries.

If my figures are correct, this country will grow by almost the entire current population of Canada in the next 38 years. Each year, approximately 287,000 immigrants come to Canada, but the overall birth rate was just under 1.6 (not even replacement) last time I checked. Whereas in this country it’s about 3.2 One of the most, if not the most valuable exports this country provides to the world is the “OFW” (Overseas Filipino Workers), many as immigrants to Canada.

So where are all these new Filipino Citizens going to live, besides going abroad?

I put forth one scenario in my “Some Ideas “ Blog entry. But what about those who are not at the lowest levels of the economic chain? The newly emerging “Middle Class” will have a profound impact on this country as it has previously in North America, Europe, and now in world population leaders like India and China. This element is looking for a “Fridge” to store their food in for a while, a TV to watch, a toilet that flushes, some of the things that most people living in Canada and the US take for granted.

I read yesterday in the newspaper that a couple of companies were going to build 300 houses for a group of displaced people as a result of a major Typhoon recently. They had projected a cost of 110,000P for each house. Now it seems almost unbelievable that a house could be built for less than $3,000US, but they were getting volunteers to help and used donated land, I believe. But when Condos and low-end Houses are running at over 1 million pesos here, 110,000P seems pretty good for just the materials.

But just how long will it take to construct these units? Close to where I live they are building a group of new, attached houses. Four were built in about 2.5 months. The Labour varied from 2 or 3 to sometimes 6 to 8 workers per day, depending on what stage the process was at.

Now I estimate that including the 3.6 million houses needed currently in this country, a total of 295,000 new houses will be needed each year until 2050. To build them let’s assume there is no limit to the manpower available, and let’s see what happens.

Using an average of 5 workers per house for 2.5 months, then it will take 1 worker slightly less than one year to build one house by himself. With the 295,000 houses needed each year, we just found employment for about 283,000 construction workers out of the 800,000 new “people” being added each year. Now if half of the remaining 517,000 became Pig farmers and the other half worked on the construction of BioDigesters to produce the country’s electricity as I described in “We All Do IT”, then they all have a job, food, a house, with no unemployment for this new crop, and the economy should be Booming!

So what is the problem?

Just because everybody has a house, does that make it a home?

Let’s leave this philosophical argument for another blog entry, I think I need to think about that issue some more before writing down my thoughts.

Moments like these (for certain reasons…) have been few and far between this year, which is surprising as I am normally one of those that turn to writing (amongst other things) when my mind begins to crumble into chaos. Inspired by the people (especially those that feature in my new, improved outlook on life) that have kept me going, I sit on Megan Wridgway’s (one of the aforementioned people) front door step at one in the morning with a renewed appreciation for life and the position in which I find myself. I have been humbled and imbued with a new and (dare I say) more accurate understanding of who and what I am capable of being and accomplishing.

There are many things that one is forced to (at some time or the other, during the course of one’s life) accept about oneself. I have accepted that planning in not my forte. I am a ‘work the night before the deadline’ kinda girl. When forced to plan, disasters occur. People get grumpy and frustrated and I feel like the sole of a pig farmer’s gumboot. I accept total responsibility. And it may sound like the lame excuse of an irresponsible teenager, but I really think that people are either ‘planners’ or doers’. Some lucky ones can be both but (just like natural procrastinators), this is a few and far between God-given talent. Nevertheless, there are people (recently acquainted with and long-standing) that have stayed by my side and kept me (more or less) sane. To them, I am eternally grateful.

*because I’m tired of naming my posts things that relate to how stressed out I am.

The FBI has decided to probe an anonymous elephant after it swallowed President Obama’s cell phone while he was on a four day tour of the National Zoo in Washington, DC.

Guilty or not?

“This is a matter of national security.” says an FBI agent (who’s name we cannot mention for security reasons.) “The elephant in question may be working with the terrorist. These days you can never tell.”

The FBI said the information on Obama’s cell phone may have been obtained illegally.

Later, it emerged the elephant had also jacked the cell phones of US pig farmers and the Florida juice ministry.

The FBI said in a statement: “The information was intended for pig farmers only and was illegally obtained. A criminal investigation is under way to identify the terrorist elephant and hold it accountable and also give it an anal probe .”

London’s Metropolitan Pig Farmers central e-crime unit said the matter was being thought about but that no ideas are coming to mind.

We will have more information on this story as it breaks.

There is a farmer in Osnabrück, Germany who owns 1,500 pigs. They might be clean creatures in the wild, but farm pigs can be smelly. This man’s pigs are especially malodorous, possibly because he feeds them raw onions. It got so bad for his downwind neighbors that they went to the city council.

Authorities ordered him to stop feeding onions to his pigs, and fined him €2,500. After his day in court, a judge sided with the farmer and against his neighbors, and rescinded the fine.

Enter Coase. He believed that disputing parties should be treated as equals. There doesn’t necessarily have to be one winner and one loser. They can both be made better off.

Coase also had the insight that the neighbors would be willing to pay some price for, ahem, improved air quality. And the farmer would be willing to pay some price to keep feeding onions to his pigs; maybe he believes that yields better-tasting ham or has some other benefit.

Knowing all that, the parties can reach a mutually agreeable solution by sitting down and bargaining with each other. What actually happened in this case was that the judge took the farmer’s side. There was a winner and a loser. If the farmer and his neighbors had been allowed to engage in Coaseian bargaining, both sides could have won.

If the neighbors paid the farmer not to use onions, the farmer would lose the benefits of onion-fed pigs, but would be compensated for that loss. So he wouldn’t be any worse off, and might even be better off, depending on the price. And the neighbors would be better off, too.

If the farmer paid his neighbors to endure the bad air, they’d still be holding their noses, but now they would do it willingly. And the farmer could still enjoy the economic benefits of his onion-fed pigs.

Either case would give a fairer outcome than the court decision.

Whichever option they decide on at the Coaseian bargaining table, both parties would walk away happy. That’s why, when it’s feasible – when transaction costs are low, in economics jargon  – Coaseian bargaining is superior to top-down regulations or judicial decisions. Finding the missing market and letting the parties make an exchange in it can make everyone better off. Why have a winner and a loser when there can be two winners?

In the meantime, I’m glad I don’t live in Osnabrück.

Licences for farms found to have traded or supplied low quality or “rubbish” pork or those who had sent their pigs to illegal abattoirs would be revoked.

New health certificates would only be issued to farms that could prove that their pigs were slaughtered at legal abattoirs.

“I have instructed that the new directive and measures be implemented as soon as possible as I do not want these perpetrators to profit at the expense of consumer health and safety.

“There is no existing livestock regulation that enables us to take action against farmers who send livestock to illegal abattoirs or who are involved in trading, supplying or selling rubbish’ pork,” Mr Chua told a press conference yesterday.

He said pig farmers would also need to sign a letter of commitment promising not to supply “rubbish” pork or send their pigs to illegal abattoirs.

One in five pigs is slaughtered in illegal abattoirs due to the lower fees charged, according to The Star Online.

Illegal abattoirs typically earn RM7mil in yearly revenue and their fees are low due to poor equipment and disposal methods.

Mr Chua said nearly half a million pigs were slaughtered in 2009 and 2010 by illegal abattoirs that charged about RM14 compared to the RM26 charged by licensed ones.

He called illegal abattoirs “venues for handling dead, diseased pigs or those unsuited for slaughtering in legal abattoirs”.

“I strongly condemn the actions of some farmers, sellers, food processors and those involved in both the illegal abattoir and the rubbish’ pork trade. They are all profiting at the expense of consumer health and safety,” he said.

Mr Chua urged farmers, pork sellers, food processors and consumers to report those involved in selling bad pork or the existence of illegal abattoirs to his ministry or the Health Ministry.

Information ThePigSite News Desk

They instructed pig raisers to add a certain amount of clenbuterol, known to the Chinese as “lean meat powder,” for a specific period of time to achieve optimal size. Then they offered a higher price for pigs fed with the drug, prompting the rampant use of the banned drug.

“We are required by the middleman to add the drug. If you don’t, the pigs don’t sell for a good price,” Zhang Yan, a private pig raiser in Mengzhou, Henan Province, told the Oriental Morning Post.

“The whole process was well concealed. We don’t know if any other pig raisers use the drug or where our pigs are sold,” Mr Zhang added.

Mr Zhang fed about 10 grams of clenbuterol to each pig, raising the cost of each pig by 3 yuan (46 US cents) to 5 yuan. A drugged pig can fetch an extra 50 yuan, according to Mr Zhang.

Quoting Oriental Morning Post, ShanghaiDaily.com reports that the middlemen made gains in three ways. They earned a 10 yuan commission for each pig, made money by selling clenbuterol to pig raisers and received more orders from slaughterhouses as lean pork was more popular, the report said.

Some middlemen work as inspectors at the animal quarantine authority.

They tested the pigs sold to slaughterhouses, giving them a chance to cheat, the report said.

The inspection process has since been tightened.

Information ThePigSite News Desk

Department chief Preecha Somboonprasert said a team of livestock officials would today file a complaint against owners of some pig farms in Chon Buri province found to have illegally used beta-agonist.

The use of such a substance would be harmful to consumers, he said. Some firms had smuggled in beta-agonist to sell to pig farms, according to Bangkok Post.

Health officials warned consumption of meat tainted with the substance over a long period could cause fatal heart conditions.

Mr Preecha said the department would send teams of officials to inspect pig farms nationwide.

Those found to use the substance would be liable to a jail term of up to one year and/or a fine of up to 10,000 baht.

Mr Preecha said the law might be amended to impose harsher punishment against pig farms using the illegal chemical agent.

Information ThePigSite News Desk

They live by garbage landfills, which are the source of food for their pigs.

Dozens of farming families, living around the garbage landfills in Shuige village in Nanjing’s Jiangning district, East China’s Jiangsu province, have been making their living by raising pigs with garbage collected from the landfills, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday.

The farmers collect leftovers from the landfills and mix them with some pig feed. About 90 families in the village raise an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 pigs each year.

“We can collect hundreds of kilograms (of the leftovers) every day. Only two families in our village feed their pigs with restaurant leftovers, and the others just collect pig food from the garbage landfills,” said a woman whose family raises dozens of the animal each year.

Wang Caifu, whose family is currently raising 22 pigs, said he earned 30,000 yuan ($4,600) last year by selling pigs, and the number of animals his family raised was the lowest in the village.

“Collecting garbage to feed pigs costs nothing. There is no better job than raising pigs here,” said Mr Wang.

A man who came to the village to work as a pig farmer from Lianyungang, also in Jiangsu, said he can earn about 500 yuan by selling each pig fed with garbage. But according to industry insiders, one pig fed entirely with feed can bring only about 100 yuan in profit in 2010.

“Garbage brings a lot of germs and may also contain heavy metal and pesticide remains,” said Liu Tiezheng, a researcher with Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, adding that the meat safety of those pigs can hardly be guaranteed.

Wang Dajin, an official with Nanjing city management bureau, said they considered banning local pig farmers from collecting garbage at the landfills to feed pigs – which is technically illegal – but abandoned that plan after farmers blocked roads several times in protest.

Chen Lixia, from Jiangning’s forestry bureau, said they have asked the pig farmers around the garbage landfills to promise not to feed the animals with garbage, but whether they kept that promise was hard to say.

Information ThePigSite News Desk

Preparing the service, my thinking strayed from the task at hand – as I’m over-inclined to do – to shepherding and sheep in general.  Years ago, I had a brief acquaintance with another Presbyterian pastor who lived in Kansas, served a little church there, and made part of his living as a sheep rancher.  At the time, one of my hobby interests was beekeeping and producing honey; and he and I would talk about our respective pursuits apart from parish ministry.

Although Dan was fond of his sheep and depended upon them for a good portion of his family’s livelihood, he had little respect for their level of intelligence or their ability to avoid extinction without his considerable help.  “I kid you not,” I remember him saying, “your bees are smarter than my sheep.”  I found that hard to believe, though I did find the bees – their behavior, their adaptability, and their corporate “decision-making” – to be really remarkable for such tiny insects.

But I suppose Dan did have a point.  The opportunities I’ve had to observe sheep – and the “trouble” they can so easily get into – well, it’s no wonder the shepherds had to live out in the fields to watch over them on the occasion of the Birth.  Still, sheep have been highly prized for literally millenia.

Two thousand and more years ago, when Jesus called the Christ was born, sheep and goats were the primary domesticated animals.  Sheep were valued greatly for their meat and their wool.  And “unblemished” sheep and lambs were reverently offered up to God by those ancient Israelites as “burnt offerings” in worship, to atone for sins, to aid in reconciling persons to God (Leviticus 1 and many other references).  So important was the belief in the power of the “sacrificial lamb,” that the blood of slaughtered lambs was the key symbol of the original Passover (Exodus 12)….and the Gospel According to John records John the Baptist as proclaiming when Jesus approached the crowd around the Baptist, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”  (chapter 1)

In that morning’s worship, one of the traditional hymns we sang was Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow, an old African-American spiritual:  “There’s a star in the East on Christmas morn, rise up shepherd, and follow.  It will lead to the place where the Christ was born, rise up, shepherd, and follow.”  Setting aside the points that the Star of Bethlehem is only mentioned in Matthew’s gospel – which doesn’t refer to shepherds – and the shepherds are only mentioned in Luke’s gospel….the significance of the angelic announcement of the Birth to humble, rough, crude, shepherds out in the fields, looking after their sheep, is major.

The Gospel According to Luke – one of the greatest of the Great Books of civilization – moves very quickly in that 2nd chapter from a decree from the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, to those shepherds rising up to go to the scene of the Birth in Bethlehem.  It was a polar move – from the most powerful and important man in the Mediterranean world, to one of its most despised occupations.  Shepherds were widely regarded as shiftless, dishonest people who grazed their flocks on others’ land, trespassing wherever they wanted.  The sheep were important, but ironically, not their keepers.

So in the original Christmas you have the heart of the mission and message of Jesus of Nazareth:  a total reversal of societal and worldly values.  The “first” (Augustus and all people of power, prestige, wealth and privilege) shall become last; and the “last” and lowest (shepherds, the poor, widows, orphans…even pig farmers and prostitutes) shall become first, most favored and lifted up, in the kingdom of God!  And Jesus proclaims himself one of them – the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his “sheep.”  (John 10)

No wonder early Christianity spread like wildfire throughout the ancient world.  The Christian good news of “a great joy for all the people” offered hope for all those “lowly” who otherwise had little or no hope, prospects, or acceptance in their lives!

Speaking of projection, might it make a bit of sense that the few literate pig farmers from thousands of years ago who were making up (and rewriting and editing and significantly changing) the Bible were merely projecting their own personal views?

 Did you ever think you would hear a Congressman come before a national audience and talk about cow farts? Well Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin has been compelled to come out to do just that in order to oppose proposed federal regulations on the issue of farts.

Our nation’s government has literally come to that point.

With a federal mentality that seeks to tax everything from the birth of your child to the amount of money that you leave behind in death, the federal government through the auspices of the Environmental Protection Agency is now considering a tax on cow and pig farts. The liberal point behind this tariff is to control the release of methane gas which alters atmospheric temperatures by keeping the atmosphere warmer.

As the largest producer of methane, livestock are being targeted by the EPA as they explore and propose the imposition of a $175 a year tax on every head of dairy cattle, $80 a head on beef cattle and $20 per head on pigs.

Penalizing pigs and cows for tax evasion if they don’t pay their way might be a difficult task so in its infinite wisdom the government would charge these taxes to their owners. Now if Porky is your pet pig, twenty bucks may not seem like a lot, but if you are a pig farmer you have a lot more than one pig in your possession. Many pigs farms number 4500 or more pigs at a time. Now charge them $20.00 a head for participating in the industry and you have one hefty new price tag that they must pass on to consumers. Many of these farmers will not be able to compete and many will ultimately shut down forcing the price of pork up even more.

Take a state like Illinois. From Henry on the north to Pike on the south there were approximately 7,500 hog farms feeding Americans. And that is just Illinois. What about the other 49 states? This new tax will not only take back the stimulus money provided to pig farmers in President Obama’ stimulus package, it will take all the profits out of their business altogether.

But its not just pigs. The same applies to cows.

Now, I am not so callous that I suggest we not give a damn about our environment. I have no problem with throwing the right garbage in the right recycling bin but to suggest that greenhouse gas emissions must be regulated to the point of taxing farts is the ultimate in environmental extremism.

And what exactly will all the proceeds from this new tax do for curtailing greenhouse emissions? Unless it is meant to kill the cattle, milk and pork industries, I do not see what the EPA will invest this money into in order to save the environment from profuse farting. Do they intend to purchase butt plugs for pigs and cows? Congressman Sensenbrenner suggests that maybe they intend to invent a catalytic converter to strap on to Elsie the Cow?

I also can’t help but wonder how far this can go.

Alexandra Pais/New Jersey Local News Service

We all know that when the government creates a tax they never repeal it and they often increase and expand it. So how far will they go if this fart tax passes? Will it not be expanded to human beings? I know a lot of people who are filled with a lot more than hot air and a per fart price tag on them alone would reduce the deficit by millions. So how much money do you think the federal government can make by taxing all humans for their own gassy anal emissions?

So I propose that we get a jump on the federal government.

From now on, whenever you pass gas, drop a dollar into a piggy fart bank. Start saving up now for the inevitable and get used to the federal government’s newest war . . . the war on farts.

An adorable pig with a sweet heavenly disposition.

Pigs add fun and whimsical charm. Their clumsy gait, pudgy demeanor and snouty appeal as they “peddle” their way on their trotters, have always presented an inspiring form for many creative pursuits such as the flying pig or winged pig form. Many cultures have mixed feelings about the pig though and attribute various cultural and societal beliefs to these clumsy animals. Some view them with disdain and disgust rendering them as forms that are created from the pits of hell while others adopt a more whimsical and appreciative tone seeing these animals as

Pink and pretty, our little pig adds a whimsical charm.

fascinating farm animals that provide food and sustenance to a majority of the human population.

For many decorating styles including that of the country and those that prevail on the farm country theme, pigs are trend setters for spicing up the look. A pig figurine or two can always be seen adorning the home or garden and this has

Sleepy and celestial, our angel pig is a cutie!

since brought forth a plethora of unique pig planters, pig sculptures like our winged pig collection and even decorative pig ornaments like bookends, plant stands and even welcome pig statues. Perhaps, farmers find their own special way of attributing the form of the pig as a form that should be applauded for the home – after all, don’t pigs provide the nutrient and mainstay of many dietary forms like the familiar pork chops and sweetened or spiced barbecued ribs, a specialty dish that is always welcomed with a tub of beer. For the Chinese, the pigs have a special place in their zodiac calendar and those born in the year of the pig are considered generous and notably associated with wealth and intelligence. For me, I am inclined towards looking at our world positively and viewing these funny animals called pigs as adorable beings graced with the looks that

Still sleepy after flying from the heavens!

God bestowed upon them and certainly fascinating us constantly with their antics as depicted through folklore and fairy tales. Our pink pig collection adopts the attitude that pigs also go to heaven and hence, our collection of winged pig sculptures that are angelic and adorable. We hope you love them just as much as we do.

I’m madder than Sirhan Sirhan at a parole hearing about all these damn Kennedys!

This week RFK Jr. said that pig farmers were “a greater threat to the United States and U.S. democracy than Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network.”

Well, unless pigs really can fly – into big giant buildings – I don’t get it. Something to do with that air pollution stuff. I guess I’m not as educated as all these Kennedys, with their fancy diplomas.

Then again, I’m not as accident prone as they are either. Those Kennedys best steer clear of any and all motor vehicles on land, sea and air, the way Superman needs to stay away from that kryptonite stuff.

I’ll never understand why everybody thinks those Kennedys are so wonderful. Sure, they have nice hair. But otherwise they seem pretty silly. That Princess Caroline made a heck of a fool of herself when they thought they’d make her a politician, saying “you know, you know” every other second. If having a famous last name is all it takes to get to run the country, we should at least pick “Washingtons” and “Jeffersons”.

Oh well, the Kennedys seem to be trying anyway. Ted’s fattened himself up so he’ll float next time. And one of the girls married The Terminator so’s to try to breed ‘em bulletproof from now on.

Otherwise I reckon they’d better quit making fun of farmers and other hard working, God-fearing Americans. It’s a good thing all the Kennedy’s nannies and maids can’t read English or we’d have a riot on our hands!

I am not generally known to be in favour of “combination” – that is to say, things such as “trade unions” (an oxymoron of course, when described in their modern socialist anti-western anti-liberal sense – a Libertarian administration presided over by me would ask its Parliament to “debate their status”) and this also goes for any people trying to lobby for “change”, in particular where this means you have to “pay more for food” other than via free market processes operating. This of course encompasses all the glitterati, mediarati, the commentariat, soviet-apparatchiks and stalinists campaigning for the manacles to be put on supermarkets, so as to “support little local shops and producers”.

However, I came across this. http://www.pigsareworthit.com

….. on which is a catchy little Tammy Wynette style ditty. Go here for the video, it is quite fun:

http://www.pigsareworthit.com/video.html

If the Stalinists in charge of the ending-of-farming in the UK are against someone, then I am for that person. (I did not mean that to format in hypertype – the robot just seems ot have insisted…)

A traditional British pig – don’t let British pork die out

Pig farmers from across the UK are to converge on Westminster in protest against falling pork profits.

Farmers leaders have claimed that the industry is in “meltdown” and so many pork farmers are leaving the business that there could be a shortage of pork by the end of the year.

Over the past year, the price of feed has doubled, and farmers are now losing over £20 on each pig raised.

As well as the demonstration, which will be held in Whitehall, a petition calling for more support for pig farmers will be handed in to 10 Downing Street.

The welfare standards for pigs farmed in the UK are higher than those in the rest of the EU, which means that British pigs are more expensive to rear. Supermarkets had raised the price of pork significantly over the past year but only a small amount is finding its way back to the British farmer.

It is time for consumers to show their loyalty to our farmers by buying British pork and bacon before the British pig farmer becomes an extinct species.

 A article I came across on the BBC’s website which made me smile:

A song called “Stand By Your Ham” is being recorded by pig farmers to raise awareness of their economic plight.

The farmers own version of Tammy Wynette’s classic “Stand By Your Man” is being recorded in London.

Kevin Gilbert, from Kintore, Aberdeenshire, is among those from across the UK taking part.

The song and video will be released on the campaign site www.pigsareworthit.com to highlight rising industry prices.

‘Fair price’

Stewart Houston, chairman of the National Pig Association, said: “It is a slightly tongue in cheek way of raising awareness of a serious issue.

“Put simply, farmers need to receive a little more for their pigs or many face the prospect of going out of business.

“All they are asking for is a fair price. If we do get a big response we’ll look at selling the single and giving any profits to charity.”

The farmers are worried about increases in feed prices caused by rising world wheat prices.