Porkgate

[pzkpfw]

It could be worse.

[Finn]

Is it conceivable that Mike King did not know anything about the caged pigs?

Dunno but how about the overly high representation of Maori cruelty against their own litters? What is Mike King doing about this?

Boy oh boy is this thread making me hungry. Now I'm normally a fruitshake kind of guy in the morning after a run but this morning I had lashings of bacon and eggs. Came to work with a chubby on. I'm gonna have a pork roast this Sunday and tonight, I'm going to one of may favourite restaurants to have pork bellies.

[sinfull]

I've met a fair share of pigs in my time And i say no to farming them !!!

[Hitcher]

Animal welfare matters aside, this whole discussion is an indulgence for the affluent, well fed, urbanised, middle class, western world.

The developed world's consumers demand affordable, tasty, nutritious, convenient and safe food. And that is what they get.

If they are prepared to pay more to asuage their "consciences" about the food they're eating, that's fine. I'm sure there will be food producers who will capitalise on that market opportunity.

But lets consider for one moment food production on a global scale.

While we with our full stomachs are getting in a lather about whether sows are caged for farrowing, several billion other humans on this planet have no idea where their next meal is coming from and aren't going to have their consciences troubled about the origins of that food if it ever arrives.

Despite my current employment, I am an agriculturalist. That's how I was brought up, that's how I was trained, and that's how I paid my mortgage for a while. As an agriculturalist I struggle with many of the arguments I hear put forward on an almost daily basis by folks who are distressed about various aspects of how their food is produced and what they think it contains. Many of their fears are groundless and based on what's currently fashionable. I dispair.

Politics aside, the world can be adequately fed. I believe that we have all of the technology and systems available to do this in an environmentally sustainable manner. Unfortunately for those who are religiously agin them, "factory farming" and genetically modified products are an essential element of such an objective.

A logical consequence of the food production systems propounded by "green" activists is local subsistence farming. Environmentally such practices are a disaster.

Surely being able to grow more low cost, high quality food, with fewer inputs such as pesticides and fertiliser, in areas where water is plentiful is a good thing? Wouldn't it be great if the vast acreages around the world that are marginal or worse for food production could be allowed to revert to their natural state and retired as national parks, enhancing biodiversity and other environmental benefits?

The 40-Hour Famine will be along in a while. I guess those who are exercising "choice" about their pork products can then take the opportunity to salve their global famine consciences by sponsoring some high school kid to live on barley sugars and fruit juice for a weekend.

[Finn]

While we with our full stomachs are getting in a lather about whether sows are caged for farrowing, several billion other humans on this planet have no idea where their next meal is coming from and aren't going to have their consciences troubled about the origins of that food if it ever arrives.

I know exactly what you mean Hitcher. I have no idea what to have for lunch today. Shall I,

a) Go home and fix something up
b) Go out to a restaurant
c) Go up the road to the delicatessen

No idea.

[oldrider]

With the recent cracklings emerging from within the New Zealand Pork Industry, does/would it change your way of thinking when it comes to buying Pork Products?
I for one, think the whole thing is fucking disgusting, they way the Pigs are treated for up to five years, I also never knew this was going on.
Free range pork??..would you buy it instead of caged Pork knowing that the price is almost (in some cases) double that of caged pork (the pork most of us has been eating forever)
Will you now start reading the words on the back of bacon packets?

When purchasing food items, it comes down to price in some cases, on Saturday, we gave up a pork leg roast and bought a smaller rolled pork piece instead...governed by the price, but im tight like that.

Just out of interest, we purchased some pork products from the "heralded" Waimate free range pork shop and it was bloody disgusting!

So much so, that we will not go back there again!

Just quoting our experience after watching some similar earlier TV footage on this subject.

[HenryDorsetCase]

I know exactly what you mean Hitcher. I have no idea what to have for lunch today. Shall I,

a) Go home and fix something up
b) Go out to a restaurant
c) Go up the road to the delicatessen

No idea.

restaurant. Have a bottle of wine or so and the world looks a much better place.

[Pixie]

I won't eat anything that hasn't suffered for my gratification - and that includes vegetables


Homer: Are you saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Ham?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

[Pixie]

One wonders if Mr King will refund the $$ his (ex) employers provided for him? Pork industry should sue him...

His next campaign will be to expose the chinese slave labour used to manufacture the appliances he advertises for Discount Appliance Warehouse

[Lissa]

Look animals are mistreated for our eating pleasure all over the world. The Asians kill whales, and eat cats and dogs. Old aged horses are sent to be slaughtered for Cat and Dog food. Animals are used for experiments and cosmetic scientific testing. The problem is us consumers, and our need for cheap and available food. If we didnt import cheap pork into NZ the NZ pork farmers would be able to upgrade their farms to have more humane practices.

As far as I can see our pigs are pretty well looked after and all this is TVNZ and TV 3 sensationalism, they cant tell a real news story even if they tried. TV3 Campbell was more interested in letting everyone know that they first run the story in 2006 .. so big boo boo to TVNZ. TVNZ was more interested in bbqing some bacon then telling both sides of the story. When SAFE broke into the piggery of course the pigs were noisy, they thought they were getting a feed. Everything that Hitcher said in his first post is spot on.

[Pixie]

Don't the meedja just love a beat-up...that's exactly what this is and I don't blame those farmers that gave a firm "no" to Close Up either.

And when all factory farming is banned they'll do an item on why we are being ripped off when the produce has risen ten fold in price.(like the cheese)
Or they'll bemoan that our agricultural industry was allowed to collapse and everything comes from unregulated southeast asian economies.

[Pixie]

Does that mean all Lebanese whales are banned??

No,idiot.He means Plebian whales

[imdying]

Psssh, sucks being the niggers at the bottom of the food chain...

As with most things, exploitation of the planet, gobbling up natural resources, treating stock like crap, etc etc, the real problem is over population.

[Lissa]

problem is over population.

Maybe thats the pigs revenge aye? Swine Flu? Or maybe the world just needs a new world war?

[Mully]

This thread makes me want roast pork with crispy roast potatoes and crackling.

Swweeeeeeeeeeeeet.

What's the point of being top of the food chain and eating vegetables?