The re-launch of the campaign to stop pigs being kept in crates looks to me like a campaign whose time has come.
Save Animals from Exploitation (SAFE) kicked off a new TV ad the other night. Powerful enough to turn the stomach of the most hardened carnivore.
SAFE has exposed some of the worst, cruelest farming practices in our agricultural nation. If you don’t believe me, watch the ad. Or the Campbell Live story. Or the Sunday piece.
When they started the campaign six months ago with pork industry frontman turned whistle blower Mike King out front, and footage of sows pressed up against the bars of unimaginably small crates, it was explosive. Both John Key and Agriculture Minister David Carter expressed concern and said something would be done.
Six months later the promised review of the Pigs Code of Welfare doesn’t seem to be happening. And the pork industry are promising a ‘phase down’ of the use of crates by 2015 that would limit the time sows spend in the crates to 16 weeks a year.
Not good enough says SAFE. I agree.
There is no excuse for this kind of cruelty in our farming practices in the 21st century.
The Government should review the Pigs Code of Welfare immediately and outlaw the use of sow and farrowing crates. In the mean time there should be mandatory labelling of pork products so consumers can clearly tell whether the pork they buy is free range or not.
Outlawing pigs in crates will mean more expensive pork. I think most Kiwis will be ready to pay the price.
In the mean time there should be mandatory labelling of pork products so consumers can clearly tell whether the pork they buy is free range or not.
Or you could just buy the pork that says ‘FREE RANGE’ on it? Or is your intent to make people aware that the stuff they’re buying is bad – kind of like egg cartons saying ‘caged hens’ on them?
Crikey I beat Spud.
Personally I’m not too interested in pork prices (i’m a vegetarian). Just a note on the video. I would rather read the post as I think more of what is said is absorbed from reading rather than watching. I think some of what is said is lost in the conversation and although your public speaking skills are great I think reading what you said has a greater impact….
This will go into moderation, but wot the hell archie – You’ve had 9 years to do something about it, with Sue and the Greens hammering away, but no, with Jim Anderton in the pork industry’s back-pocket – rien de rien.
Carter just as bad – the cursed demand for cheap bacon, the demand for free trade in which other countries with even worse records dump their cheaper bacon on us….
Cannot we dare to be unpopular and make free range pork mandatory, realising that it will be more expensive?
@StephenR LOL
– I’ve been tied up all morning, plus I have a hangover.
I think it’s high time that we had compulsory labelling on cruel pork products, sure ethical pork may well be more expensive, but I think the name ‘n’ shame of labelling would do some good.
Good on Mike King for having the guts to speak out about this.
I’ll support Mike King when he pays back every single cent he was paid by the pork board for his advertisements…
Jeremy Harris no one is asking you to support Mike King.
Do you have a view on sow crates and farrowing crates?
Or is your intent to make people aware that the stuff they’re buying is bad – kind of like egg cartons saying ‘caged hens’ on them?
What other meaning could you possibly deduce from what was said in the post?
Haha good point Rocky, surprised no one called me on that earlier. I withdraw the comment – free range already is labelled so, so what else could he have been saying. :embarassed face here:
StephenR it wasn’t actually your point that free range is already labeled that got me – it’s possible Phil might not have known that so your question was valid in that respect.
so consumers can clearly tell whether the pork they buy is free range or not.
It’s the OR NOT bit here that I thought made it abundantly clear
I was responding to Spud’s comment Rocky…
On the crates, I’m more than happy to pay more for my bacon for this to stop in NZ…
At a guess I think the majority of NZers would…
What is it about Labour being in power for 9 years that has so many tories upset? It seems to come up at every opportunity, any time any one has anything to say about anything “You had 9 years rah blah blah”. Labour’s ability to balance tackling social issues without seeming overly “anti-business” is probably part of the reason why they managed to stay in power for so long. It’s utterly erroneous to deflect discussion about issues away simply because Labour were in power from 99-08. This just in: it’s nearly 2010 now. Food labelling was never seriously an issue, really and honestly, at any point during Labour’s tenure. Things are different now in many ways; grow up already and actually engage with the discussion or sit quietly on the side lines like good children.
I entirely agree with stricter regulations on labelling. It’s not about telling consumers that a product is “bad” a la StephenR, it’s about telling consumer what is actually in the products they are buying. I agree with the Green’s policies for stricter labelling – we ought to be able to clearly see where the product came from, if it has any GMO involved in its production at any point, the methods involved in its production (so agricultural products would indicate organic, free range, battery, etc etc etc), not to mention an effective and easy to understand method of gauging the nutritional content (I like the idea of the traffic light system).
Personally I will buy organic and free range products over the more cruel alternatives. I exclusively buy free range or barn hen eggs, and although it’s more expensive, eventually supply and demand will abate that to a certain extent. I buy bacon so infrequently due to it’s rather high price and relative lowness on the necessity scale (I am but a poor student after all) that when I do purchase it, the extra expense for free range will really already be a foregone conclusion.
In the absence of any action from governments or industry, we as consumers have to exercise our (much heralded in the neoliberal era) consumer sovereignty and vote with our dollars. I have seen the free range egg section at the super market expand at the expense of the farmer brown cage egg equivalents, and most of the time now when I go shopping there are hardly any cruelty-free eggs left, but certainly a lot of the alternative (I shop late at night). It does work.
I have some concerns about the new labelling, am I right that trans fats might not be included? Are there any other types of ingredients that could be left out? Will any allergins be left out?
I only buy free range eggs, battery farms should be outlawed
1/ the “you had 9 years etc” thing will be about for years, that’s just the way it is. Phil said that waiting until 2015 to sort things out is not good enough. That gives the Nats 6-7 years to sort out a touchy issue .. 2 years less than 9.
2/ the picture of Phil is unfortunate as it suggests he is one eyed.
3/ the big losers will be the low paid who are struggling now so paying a lot extra for free range pork/eggs etc could price them out.
Now that I have that out of the way, I think any animal (and human) cruelty is appalling and i will back anything to stop it.
There have been some appalling examples of animal cruelty recently that makes me sick.
I’m most definitely not a Tory, but this is one issue that the “Labour had 9 years and what did they do?” argument holds very very true.
Freedom Farms pork is generally not much more than “usual pork”, although the bacon is unbelievably expensive.
“It seems to come up at every opportunity, any time any one has anything to say about anything “You had 9 years rah blah blah”.It’s utterly erroneous to deflect discussion about issues away simply because Labour were in power from 99-08. This just in: it’s nearly 2010 now. Things are different now in many ways; grow up already and actually engage with the discussion or sit quietly on the side lines like good children.”
THANK YOU!!!! Finally someone with common sense. Now somebody just needs to get this through John Key’s head. Can the speaker ban the phrase “you had 9 years”? it might make National accountable)
@noexit – I agree – I am tired of the nats bleating on about the whole 9 years – they have short memories – labour spent the first 4-6 fixing the mess the nats made of the time they were in govt. And, while I’m on it – what the heck is wrong with us as a kiwi nation – the public also has short memories. Not only do we forget the whole John Key involvement re Brass and the ‘hollow man’, but we tend to get stuck in a ‘we need a change’ and forget why the left were needed in the first place.
As for the pigs – anyone else notice just how much land was going empty while the pigs were stuck in little crates – how hard would it have been to open the barn doors and let the poor blighters run around – (I know – a bit of a simple statement, but the owner has a whole farm going spare…) – and until it was uncovered, I did not realise just how many of these ‘crate’ farms there were.
It’s not about telling consumers that a product is “bad” a la StephenR
Language will be an issue, as some will want the labelling to reflect ‘badness’ as strongly as possible, while others will probably just want facts – sounds simple(?) but unlikely to be so!
I am tired of the nats bleating on about the whole 9 years – they have short memories – labour spent the first 4-6 fixing the mess the nats made
I’m not excusing it but National probably feel they’re entitled to when Labour were still blaming National’s policies in 2008.
Great video blog, Phil. Keep them coming. Now that TVNZ is given over entirely to National Party propaganda – they even have their own hour long, interruption free, video press release on Sunday morning – your video blog is the only animated source of opposition.
“not to mention an effective and easy to understand method of gauging the nutritional content (I like the idea of the traffic light system)”
I really hope they don’t take that system up. Its far too simplistic. Nutritional value can only be judged based on the needs of the body the food is going into. Eating fattening food might be a bad nutritional choice for someone who is overweight, but its a good choice for someone who is underweight – and there are plenty of those, even though the media focus on fat people. Underweight people don’t need the additional obstacle of a misleading “bad food” sign on their goods.
Per Mercks:
“About 16% of elderly persons living in the community consume < 1000 kcal/day, an amount that does not maintain adequate nutrition. Undernutrition also affects 17 to 65% of those in acute care hospitals and 5 to 59% of those in long-term care institutions. Protein-energy undernutrition can lead to many acute and chronic conditions.”
As far as food labelling goes, I’m in favour of knowing what’s in it and where it’s from – but then leave it up to me to then decide whether its good for me.
All ingredients should be listed, even if only in trace amounts some people can die really easily from very low amounts of certain things.
Also, it’s a human rights issue, people have the right to choose exactly what goes into their bodies.
It’s true, labour did have 9 years with Sue Kedgley hammering at them – plenty of opportunities to lose the crates, and plenty of opportunities to support consumer choice through mandatory labelling. What did they do? Nothing!
It’s not just a Tory refrain, this 9 year whinge. It sticks because it’s true. In power, with plenty of time, labour refused to move on these issues. Now they’ve gone all mushy.
Why does Labour suddenly care about sow crates? They never did before. I guess it has to be a hot issue. Sue Kedgley’s been on about this since 2001 at least.
http://www.greens.org.nz/press-releases/its-long-time-crate-mate
I can just see the people of South Auckland buying the most expensive Pork in the land just to help out the Labour party.
Of course its not going to be popular, Doug. Sometimes you do have to make a choice between what is right and what is popular.
Do you really want a Labour Party full of little wannabee John Keys, only doing the popular thing?
And to go Off-Topic -sorreee, Moderator! – am still awaiting a cogent explanation as to why Labour felt it had to vote with NACT over DNA testing (will skip the encroaching of the Govt on the Bill of Rights, begun, believe it or not, over the last 9 years)
Sort of behaviour I expect from NACT, not from Labour.
I’m glad Labour is behind this sow crate cause. Pigs are more intelligent than dogs and if anyone treated a dog in that way that spca would have them.
Well, looky here. A discussion on the cruelty of sow crates by Labour – and all the ensuing discussion. Lets get real. We need to buy NZ Pork not the imported stuff and support our farmers so that they can stay in business. The imported stuff (somewhere near 50% of consumption) is grown under worse conditions than on our farms. Pork NZ do a great job of labelling NZ farmed pork. Pork NZ also need to label (with respect to farming methods) and educate so that we know how our own pork is farmed. We need country of origin labelling so that we can choose which pork product to buy. OMG. I sound like Sue Kedgley – who’s been harping on about this for 10years. And so she should. Its about time someone listened tho eh
The imported stuff (somewhere near 50% of consumption) is grown under worse conditions than on our farms.
Got anything to back up this statement?
To Labour,
Please I urge you to help ban sow crates and farrowing crates for pigs and to ensure that pigs get to roam freely and are not confined to a small area where they can hardly move. I also think that it should be compulsory for all pigs to be able to go outside in the fresh air and grass since sheds are not their natural habitat. Pigs do not belong in prisons, afterall they have not commit any crime.
I also ask that you please ensure that battery hen farming is banned because this is just as disturbing as the pig issue.
Please help someone?
Thanks Phil.
I also think we can add the increased risk of diseases such as avian and swine flu that seem to germinate much better in these kind of conditions to reasons to make a legislative change…
I don’t really want to risk a plaguesqe situation because we needed 25% cheaper bacon…
I wrote to my Labour MP Ruth Dyson in 2007 complaining about sow crates after I read an article in a pet magazine. The answer was just another put down via Jim Anderton who was then the Agricultural minister saying they would be ‘reviewing the situation in 2009 but basically there was no reason for change.’ As I understood from the magazine article these crates are banned in many countries – is that correct?
Now this review is once again being extended and I cannot believe we are now talking about 2015. In the meantime we are treating a much maligned animal to a horrible life behind bars from one pregnancy to the next. Even the insemination is performed with a plunger – inside the factory!) It is just barbaric with no quality of life ever for this ‘factory robot mother pig.’
NZ should be ashamed, this needs to be changed as soon as possible. I have a guts full of all the delays and all the excuses.
Of course pigs should be free to roam in a paddock like any other animal. New Zealanders are finally getting to see the real NZ, it is not clean, green and humane all of which the politicians could change but dont because they put trade and money ahead of these issues. They have their priorities wrong. We should be setting standards for the world to follow not follow the countries that who dont have any and furthermore dont care either. A related question ‘Why is it that people can no longer kill pigs in their backyard but can kill dogs?’
There should be more marches held especially outside Parliament, councils or the encumbents of these institutions houses.